A new chapter in drive production at Audi is beginning in the Hungarian city of Győr, as the company commences manufacture of electric motors for the Premium Platform Electric (PPE). The newly developed electric motors will be used for the first time in the Audi Q6 e-tron series. Production of the first fully electric Audi model is scheduled to start at the Ingolstadt headquarters at the end of the year with the PPE-based model. Among other provisions, the company has set up its own battery assembly facility in Ingolstadt in preparation for this step. In Győr, Hungary, Audi Hungaria produces stators and transmission components in a completely new 15,000-square-meter production area, where the axles for the PPE are also assembled. Product testing also takes place in Győr.
“Győr is predestined for the production of these highly compact and efficient electric motors for the PPE,” says Audi CEO Gernot Döllner. “The highly qualified team at the site has already built over 400,000 electric drive systems since 2018, which is invaluable experience.” In addition to the electric motors for the PPE that power the Audi Q6 e-tron series, Győr also builds the drive system for the Audi Q8 e-tron. Furthermore, an additional production area is being set up for electric motors that will be used in vehicles based on the MEBeco (modular electric drive toolkit) in the Volkswagen Group.
To produce the electric motors for the PPE, the brand with the four rings has installed three new lines. The production line for stators has 28 work steps, the one for transmission components has 15. One axle alone requires 190 individual steps to assemble. Around 700 employees are involved in production. In terms of series production, the employees in Győr work in three shifts to build up to 2,000 electric motors per day for the PPE. The site supplies both Audi and Porsche. Compared to the previous electric motor assembly facility, the vertical range of production has been increased once again. “The start of production in Győr marks an important milestone in the ramp-up of production of the Audi Q6 e-tron,” says Audi Board Member for Production and Logistics Gerd Walker.
“I know from personal experience how passionately the team at Audi Hungaria works and how systematically it advances the further electrification of the world’s largest engine plant. With its enormous expertise in drive systems and net carbon neutral production, the Győr site is an indispensable part of Audi’s global production network,” adds Walker, who was Managing Director for vehicle production at Audi Hungaria from 2012 to 2016.
Audi Production is using the transition to e-mobility to comprehensively transform its global production network and has a clear vision for the Manufacturing of the future with the 360factory. As part of this holistic, sustainable approach, Audi is modernizing, digitalizing, and transforming its existing plants. Production in Győr has been net carbon neutral since 2020; the site has Europe’s largest roof-mounted photovoltaic system and is Hungary's biggest industrial geothermal energy consumer. To make transporting the electric motors for the PPE from Győr to Ingolstadt net carbon neutral, Audi relies on the transport and logistics company DB Cargo.
The same year that production is launched for the PPE, Audi Hungaria is looking back on a 30-year success story. Since its establishment, the company has grown to become the world’s largest powertrain plant and the first manufacturer in Hungary to produce premium cars. With production of the CUPRA Terramar set to take place there, Győr will further increase synergies in the global production network. Technical Development provides product development for Audi and the Volkswagen Group. In addition to production, the company draws on the extensive know-how of its employees to provide a wide range of services to other Group brands.
In order to expand the exclusive series production of body components for the Progressive brand group with Audi, Lamborghini, and Bentley, Audi Hungaria expanded its toolmaking facility just last year. Complex body components such as rear and front hatches, doors, fenders, roofs, and side panel frames are made here – mainly from aluminum.
Audi Hungaria has invested around twelve billion euros since its foundation. This makes the site one of the largest investors in Hungarian industry. Audi Hungaria currently employs approximately 12,000 people.