Audi 2015 Annual Report Download - page 28

A review : It is early September in California. At over  degrees
Celsius, it is unusually hot for this time of year, but the tem-
peratures match the heated discussion going on at The Battery
in downtown San Francisco. In the Penthouse, with a view
of the surrounding skyscrapers, an unconventional meeting
is taking place : About  creative minds from Silicon Valley are
sharing their thoughts about the future of piloted driving, in
which the driver can at times hand over the task of driving to
the car. The host : Audi Innovation Research, or AIR for short.
No dress code, last names or agendas – this meet-up asks par-
ticipants things like : “What fascinates you about piloted driv-
ing ?”, “Where do you see the added value for you personally ?”,
and “How will piloted driving change the relationship between
the customer and the car ?” Each person has a di erent answer
to these questions. “We spend so much time sleeping. What
would it be like if we were to use this time sensibly ? If I lie down
in my car to sleep and wake up the next day in a completely dif-
ferent place – like the Grand Canyon ?” Jon asks. “And afterward
it shows me what I missed,” Rachel adds. The car could also
become the destination instead of just a means of transport,
Mel thinks : “You could use it as a conference room that picks
up the participants.” Paolo confi des : “My wife and I decided
not to have any kids. So what I think about is : Who is going
to drive me around when I get old ?”
DIRECT LINE TO THE COMPANY
AIR employee Jürgen Kufner sums up the motley crew of par-
ticipants : “Here, experts from Yahoo and the Netfl ix streaming
service meet with the curator of the Guggenheim Institute,
the virtual reality specialists from Vrse and the creative director
of Pixar’s animated movie Cars.” Some of them are enthusiastic
car owners, some of them do not enjoy driving because of
the tra c, and others rely completely on carsharing. The inter-
disciplinary nature of the discussions makes them highly
stimulating and especially valuable for AIR. Also participating
are employees from AIR Peking, from Brand Development in
Ingolstadt and from the Volkswagen Group’s Palo Alto-based
Electronics Research Laboratory. As a consequence, new in-
sights that emerge here are immediately interpreted for Audi
and transmitted to the company.
A NEW DEFINITION
OF PREMIUM
“It’s a fact that people are not rational creatures, but rather
emotional ones,” Paolo says, explaining the procedure. “That’s
why we are not talking about technology today. Technology
is going to get there. What interests me is the environment of
this new technology.” And this is where many of the guests
see big potential to create value for customers. Lucy believes
the same holds true for the connection between people and
their cars : “If an Audi could pick you up and bring you to work,
should it then be your Audi or just any Audi ? I love my car be-
cause it is mine and I am familiar with it.” A piloted car should
therefore be intelligent and also capable of getting to know
its driver : “On the way to work it plays the playlist I was already
listening to during breakfast in my apartment.” “It adapts
its driving style to my own.” “It stops at the co ee shop where
I always pick up my cappuccino” – the ideas bubble forth,
thoughts and discussions take their course. “I like that Audi is
already thinking today about the next few years,” Paolo says.
“Long-term thinking allows companies to change the future.
Audi is shaping, not just reacting.”
One thing is certain : In the future, in addition to the “hardware” –
that is, the car itself – services, software and unique, emotional
experiences will also be part of the o er. This depends on rede-
fi ning the premium standard in the form of intelligence, time
and experience. As a company, Audi has the decisive advantage
of already having decades of experience producing high-quality
cars that are desirable all over the world.
PHOTOS : Anthony Lindsey