Audi to sacrifice production of A8 in favor of e-tron GT

According to reports from the local German press, Audi is planning to increase the production of the all electric e-tron GT. Since the car is sharing production facilities with the company flagship model, the A8, the only way to increase numbers of one model is to reduce output of the other.

The company has confirmed that it will cut the production numbers of the Audi A8 but it did not reveal the exact numbers. Any members of staff affected by the changes will be re-trained and transferred to electric car assembly.

Audi is struggling to keep up with the demand for its electric models and they are not alone in that struggle. The company wants to increase the e-tron GT production starting this January which gives the staff just enough time to re-train.

Audi sold about 1,000 A8 sedans since it was revised last year but nearly 15,000 e-tron GT vehicles were sold in the same time. The demand for the Porsche Taycan sibling from Audi is only growing and the company has to adapt to the customer demands.

E-tron GT is just a small part of Audi electric lineup, as the company prepares to increase production numbers of all of its electric cars, the gas-powered models will slowly start taking less and less production slots across all of its factories.

Audi has a tradition of assigning models and their respective production volumes to each factory in November of every year. This year is the 71st planning round and the very first one that has been postponed - the company won’t make any decisions until January 2023.

Neckarsulm plant workers want to manufacture an electric replacement for an Audi A8 but that car is not coming for another 2-3 years. With the recent EU approval of the gas-powered vehicle sales ban from 2035, there is no longer room for combustion engine development and all manufacturers will begin scaling down the investments into ICE technology. The EV revolution is just beginning.

Via