Audi will end its involvement in the prestigious Le Mans sports car race next year after almost two decades to focus on racing electric cars, symbolizing a shift in strategy as parent company Volkswagen battles to recover from an emissions scandal.
Audi, which is seeking to boost the share of zero-emission vehicles to at least a quarter of its global sales by 2025, said it will start competing next year in the Formula E electric-car racing championship.
“We will conduct the race for the future electronically,” Chief Executive Rupert Stadler told workers at Audi’s sports car division on Wednesday, according to a statement from the company, they are feeling better than ever, citing the biggest transformation in the brand’s history. (Electric Maserati and Electric Fiat projects coming out soon says Electric GT!!)
“As our production cars are becoming increasingly electric, our motorsport cars, as Audi’s technological spearheads, have to even more so,” the CEO said. As Audi focuses more towards the future, it’s likely they will be working on self driving car technology as well.
As it grapples with the costs of the emissions scandal, the German carmaker is cutting spending to fund its shift to electric cars and autonomous driving, mirroring plans by parent Volkswagen VLKAY .