BERLIN, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Audi plans to invest 14 billion euros (15.9 billion U.S. dollars) in electric mobility, digitization and autonomous driving from 2019 until the end of 2023, the German car manufacturer announced on Tuesday.
The money will cover investments in properties, plants and equipment as well as cost for research and development. Audi's total expenditure during this five-year period will amount to 40 billion euros, according to company figures.
"We are taking a very systematic approach to electric mobility and will be much more focused in future," said Bram Schot, interim chairman at Audi. By 2025, the Volkswagen subsidiary intends to offer around 20 electrified cars, about half of which are planned to have all-electric drive systems.
Currently, Audi is not offering an all-electric car but recently revealed an all-electric luxury-class SUV that is likely to hit the streets in 2019.
To realize the company's electric strategy, Audi is cooperating with Porsche to develop a joint platform that is planned to spawn three model series (PPE) of large electric cars and is also using the modular electric drive kit (MEB) developed by parent company Volkswagen.
