Audi: 'We're not a green brand'

Audi will not follow BMW in trying to position itself as a green brand, according to company boss Rupert Stadler.

Stadler said that, while Audi will always try to build as efficient vehicles as possible, it would never sell its cars on the back of being a green brand.

"We will stick to our Vorsprung Durch Technik philosophy, not have a catch-all marketing claim such as Efficient Dynamics," said Stadler. "We're convinced in Vorsprung Durch Technik, we're a dynamic, sporty brand but not necessarily positioned as a green brand. That will come about as a matter of course.

"We want to take out weight and want to further diesel and FSI technology. We can still improve fuel consumption. But we will not position Audi as a green car brand - we will fulfil regulations - but we are also an emotional brand."

Stadler also said that Audi wouldn't put an electric car on sale until it was convinced it would give the sort of performance Audi buyers have come to expect. However, he did commit to putting the Audi E-tron into production by 2012, adding that the possibilities of electric power were interesting.

"We have to optimise performance of electric cars," he said. "Performance is part of our emotional appeal, so it’s very important.

"Electric power will also give Quattro more possibilities, such as powering the rear axle like in the A1 concept, or four wheels in motors like the E-tron. In fact, we want to launch a production E-tron in small volumes at the end of 2012."

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