The Böllinger Höfe manufactory near Neckarsulm has so far specialized in the production of the R8 supersport. It is also starting to produce electric gran turismo.
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Audi, like other car manufacturers, is gradually expanding its range of electric cars. So far, it is active exclusively in the field of SUVs, when it offers the e-tron model and the derived e-tron Sportback with a sportier style, but it is now also moving into the category of conventional cars with electric vehicles. It starts mass production of the electric e-tron GT, a serial version of the concept of the same name from 2018.
Serial production was launched at a time when the car had not yet been officially introduced to the world. So far, Audi is still presenting the novelty only through the concept, or through masked prototypes. He will start accepting orders for him in the spring of 2021.
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The new product is expected to start production at the Böllinger Höfe factory near Neckarsulm, which has so far specialized in the production of the R8 supersport. This is a young plant, opened in 2014. Production began there the first generation R8, which until then was created in the nearby Neckarsulm plant, but was primarily ready for the second generation R8 from 2016.
Now, however, production at Böllinger Höfe is being expanded with a second model line, which is also the first Audi electric car to be manufactured in Germany – the e-tron and the e-tron Sportback derived for Europe are manufactured in Belgium. The preparations started in record time, with the fact that, despite the coronavirus pandemic, it managed to start as planned.
“The e-tron GT is the electrical and sporting culmination of Audi’s product portfolio and therefore fits perfectly into the production of the Neckarsulm plant and, above all, into the production of sports cars at the Böllinger Höfe manufactory.” says plant manager Helmut Stettner. Side by side, the fastest and most powerful serial models of the brand will be produced.
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Of interest is the production with a neutral carbon dioxide balance, which Audi has already achieved at its plants in Brussels, Belgium and Gyor, Hungary. The heat required for production at the Böllinger Höfe manufactory is supplied by a modular plant for the cogeneration of electricity and heat by burning biogas. Rail transport in the plant, which is provided by locomotives for electricity or CNG, is also climate-neutral, while one major forwarder uses biomethane in the case of road freight transport.
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Emissions that cannot currently be eliminated with renewable energy are compensated by Audi with so-called carbon credits from certified climate protection projects.
The production itself also wants to be maximally ecological. There is a need for a closed aluminum cycle, in which cuttings of aluminum sheets, which are created in the press shop of the Neckarsulm plant, are repeatedly used. They are used, among other things, in the production of the side wall frame for the e-tron GT. Plastic waste from the assembly of models A6 and A7 is again used to create special fibers for use in 3D printers. Assembly also minimizes the use of paper, which reduces waste.
At the same time, ecological thinking was also taken into account in the preparation of series production. It completely avoided physical prototypes. Using virtual reality software and applications, all assembly procedures were tested only virtually.
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