Audi starts A2 e-tron production in Ingolstadt with 21 months less development time

Audi has begun production of the fully electric A2 e-tron at its Ingolstadt site, with the first units rolling off the assembly line in the presence of Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder; production started in September 2026. Audi says the model shows how the company itself is becoming more efficient, through a shorter development process, fewer variants, reduced complexity and more automation. Existing equipment and production facilities continue to be used. According to Audi General Works Council Chairman Jörg Schlagbauer, the works council and the workforce had campaigned since 2019 for Audi to develop an entry-level electric model and build it in Ingolstadt.

Audi significantly shortened product development for the A2 e-tron: the period from development to production readiness was 21 months shorter than for previous vehicle projects, and experience from earlier projects plus streamlined processes reduced coordination effort so the car reached maturity earlier during pre-series production. The model combines high customer benefit with significantly fewer production-relevant part numbers, which also cuts the number of logistics supermarkets, requires less space for logistics and simplifies material supply inside the plant. For the first time, Audi applies the string-of-pearls production principle in Ingolstadt, a principle already used successfully at Neckarsulm: the sequence of customer orders is determined six days before assembly starts and then processed across all production areas. That reduces process complexity because a fixed sequence lets parts be produced directly at the supplier in the correct order and packed in the designated container, and it improves cost-effectiveness because storage and sequencing areas are eliminated.

Audi manufactures the bodies of the A2 e-tron together with those of the Audi A3, made possible by the flexible layout of the facilities. More than 1,200 production components, including robot welding guns and around 250 robots already used to manufacture other Audi models, are reused or put to further use. In the chassis preassembly area for the front and rear axles, fully automated robot stations replace the previous semi-automated bolting stations for wheel installation. In the body shop, 'bin picking' uses image processing and camera-guided robot control to recognize and pick up components, reducing ergonomically demanding tasks, and for the first time the robots can remove small sheet-metal components directly from disordered containers and feed them into the next production step.

The industrial cloud 'Edge Cloud 4 Production' supports the digital networking of assembly: the Universal Test System for commissioning the A2 e-tron control units and the 'operator guidance' that provides information on vehicle customizations are centrally controlled from the cloud, saving more than 450 industrial PCs in assembly. Audi is also establishing AI-supported knowledge assistants across production sites, including a Supply Chain Chatbot that helps employees search for expert knowledge, processes and documentation and a maintenance Chat that supports maintenance teams with fault analysis and finding solutions. Audi also prepared its workforce with a multistage qualification concept combining hands-on training and virtual qualifications, including virtual assembly training on a screen. That program strengthens electromobility expertise at the Ingolstadt site and anchors future-relevant knowledge in the plant.