Audi A1 e-tron fleet trial starting in Munich

The Munich model region will be the location of the first feet trial of the Audi A1 e-tron. In a partnership with E.ON, the Munich municipal utility company Stadtwerke München (SWM) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Audi is starting the first fleet trial that should count with 20 Audi A1 e-tron models on the road by the middle of next year.

With around 200 new charging stations being installed, the “efflot” project is part of the "Model Region Electromobility Munich" sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Transport. The objective is to analyze a number of issues thanks to the data transfer between the driver, vehicle and electric filling station to the power grid. The fleet trial will also test the use of smartphones as the central interface for the driver.

“Audi is working hard on the future of mobility. We are trying to find a concept that requires no compromises,” says Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, who continues, “Electromobility means more to us than just electrifying conventional cars. Instead we are dedicated to a holistic approach to all aspects of the topic. We hope that this fleet trial will enable us to gain broad insights into the behavior but also the expectations of our customers regarding their dealings with electric cars. Of course, the data that we will collect are another aspect. This market and technology feedback will enable us to further expand our expertise in electrification.”

The A1 e-tron is an electric Mega City Vehicle that can be driven on electric power only for a range of more than 50 kilometers. The electric vehicle is powered by 102 hp engine and also features a compact internal combustion engine that is used to recharge the battery when its energy is depleted. This small, single-rotor Wankel engine is able to extend the range of the A1 e-tron by 200 kilometers.

As for the performance the A1 e-tron reaches a top speed of 130 km/h. It is an emission-free vehicle throughout the first 50 kilometers, when driving on electric power. When the combustion engine is working it has fuel consumption of 1.9 l/100km, which represents CO2 emissions of 45 g/km.

In the partnership E.ON and SWM will be responsible for the installation of the necessary charging infrastructure. The two utility companies will be responsible for different areas, with E.ON focusing on the outlying areas and SWM in the Bavarian state capital. Each company will initially install a total of 100 “electric filling stations”, with all charging stations being supplied with electricity generated from renewable energies.

At the Technical University of Munich they will be responsible for the data collection and evaluation of mobility behavior. The Departement of Vehicle Engineering has developed a mobile application that will be provided on a smartphone to all participants of the fleet trial. The Department of Ergonomics was also involved to ensure that the participants always use the smartphone by creating an application that features an easy-to-use design, encouraging its use over the long-term. Finally the Department of Marketing is also developing a study do discover which billing models for the electricity used for e-mobility meet with the greatest acceptance.

The German Federal Ministry of Transport is supporting the fleet trial as part of a publically-funded project. According to Federal Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer, “Electromobility is not an abstract technology issue. At its core is the question of how the transportation systems of the future should look. We are therefore funding electromobility under real-world conditions in our model regions – a large field test, so to speak. Projects like these provide us with important insight into how to make electromobility a success, both in the city and in rural areas.”

The Minister explained that, for example, in the Munich model region the Government is investing approximately €10 million on electromobility and they consider this money as a “smart investment in the future”. Germany has clear goal: “We want to make Germany the lead market for electromobility and put at least one million electric vehicles on German roads by 2020,” says Ramsauer.