Audi 2015 Annual Report Download - page 76

“As architects, engineers
and designers, we are
every bit as responsible
for the sustainability
of a building as a car
manufacturer is for its
automobiles.”
Robert Price, architect
PHOTOS : Algirdas Bakas
Nowhere else in the world do the contra-
dictions of our modern, industrial society
clash so unfi ltered as in the seemingly
endless growth of the metropolises of
Asia. Hardly anywhere is the tension
more apparent between the desire for
growth, luxury, size and the demands
of sustainable management. But this is
also where creative minds understand
this problematic paradox as a challenge
to produce innovations that, thanks to
intelligent technologies, are gradually
becoming reality. A challenge that has
been accepted not just by urban plan-
ners and architects, but by automobile
manufacturers as well.
We climb into the Audi Q7 e-tron quattro
at Pudong Airport and the MMI Naviga-
tion plus takes over. It not only computes
the fastest route to our meeting at the
architecture fi rm Gensler, but also the
optimal operating strategy for the nearly
50 kilometers to our destination. Fully
charged, we could cover this distance
purely on electric power – and back again
after two-and-a-half hours connected
to a power outlet. Right now our charge
status is 50 percent. For the fi rst route
segment on the highway, the predictive
e ciency assistant decides in favor of
the 2.0 TFSI engine – with coasting and
recuperation phases whenever possible,
of course. But after we leave the elevated
urban highway and descend via the dis-
tinctive spiral-shaped ramp at Huangpu
River into the hustle and bustle of
downtown, we cover the last few kilo-
meters purely on electric power and
therefore emission-free.
The models mentioned are available exclusively on the Chinese market.