At a recent panel hosted by the Bavarian Media Group, Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi AG, discussed his vision of sustainable mobility and electric vehicles (EVs) along with the current challenges. Alongside Carsten Spohr (Lufthansa) and Joe Kaeser (Siemens Energy), Duesmann took questions from moderator Gabor Steingart.
The key statements from Duesmann on targeting green mobility are below:
On the Energy Transition:
Markus Duesmann, Audi AG CEO, said: “The global state of affairs underscores the need for industry and society as a whole to move away from fossil fuels even faster than planned.
“The expansion of renewable energies and the transition to emobility are major steps on our path toward an electricity-based society.
“Our generation’s task is to make sure future generations will be able to do without fossil fuels. To meet this goal, we need technological innovations now.”
On Emobility”
Duesmann said: “Whether we’re talking emobility in transport, efuels in aviation or hydrogen in trucks, we need to set clear technology priorities. In other words, we need cross-industry understanding of how each sector will leverage technology to achieve carbon neutrality overall.
“Electric cars enter the use phase with a larger carbon footprint because their production is more energy-intensive. That’s where we focus on reducing carbon emissions over the entire product life cycle.
“For example, through net-zero production or the use of green energy in battery production. The availability of renewable energy is therefore another crucial factor in determining how ‘green’ emobility is.”
On Germany’s Role as a Business Location:
Duesmann said: “We are not strong because we build the technologies in Germany, but because we develop them here. Sustainable technologies ‘made in Germany’ in particular allow us to become pioneers and assert our economic strength at an international level.
“Of course, we will continue production at our sites in Germany. That’s a definite commitment.”
