AUDI AG has reached another significant milestone in the company's successful history with lightweight aluminium production – manufacturing over 150,000 aluminium-bodied vehicles.
From aluminium pioneer to volume production, Audi has now built more than 93,000 Audi A8 models and just under 57,000 Audi A2 models.
Audi has conducted intensive research and development work connected to aluminium technologies for more than 16 years and as a consequence, the company has achieved exceptional know-how in this field. This work has produced significant reductions in weight and a revolutionary new approach for vehicle design and production with the Audi Space Frame (ASF).
The Audi Space Frame is a high-strength aluminium frame structure into which the large aluminium panels are integrated where they have a load-bearing effect.
In 1994 this knowledge was applied to volume production with the Audi A8 becoming the first production saloon with an aluminium body. At the end of 1994 Audi concentrated its expertise in the field of lightweight construction at its Neckarsulm site, erecting an aluminium centre at a cost of around DM 15 million.
Approximately 100 members of staff work at the aluminium centre on the development of aluminium production vehicles. The bulk of work is concerned with optimising components and processes for volume application in ASF technology.
This development work produced recent visible results when the Audi A2 with second-generation ASF was launched in mid-2000. This vehicle became the first volume-built aluminium car and required techniques, processes, tools and production methods to be developed from scratch or modified. The Audi A2 1.2 TDI followed in June 2001, becoming the first five-door "three-litre" car (meaning one that consumes just three litres of fuel per 100 km) that makes no compromises in terms of space, comfort and driveability.
Audi is an international developer and manufacturer of high-quality cars. In 2000 the company sold more than 650,000 Audi models. The sales revenues of the Audi Group totalled DM 39 billion. The Audi Group currently has more than 50,000 employees. In Australia, Audi sold around 3,020 vehicles in 2000.