Developing the cars of the future can be an expensive enterprise, and now, even some of the world’s most luxurious auto brands are looking for ways to be strategic in terms of spending. Audi and Porsche will now be teaming up for what’s being called “the shared vehicle architecture of the future.” The two brands will work together into order to help electrify, digitize, and autonomize the cars of the next generation. As Audi CEO Rupert Stadler noted, “The best brains of both companies will together set the course for the future.”
The goal of the new partnership, the two carmakers noted, is to “shape the mobility of the future together.” After all, two brains is better than one, and Audi and Porsche are looking to leverage one another’s areas of expertise in order to increase their collective capabilities. Of course, we should note that both Audi and Porsche are both subsidiary companies of Volkswagen AG, which makes the collaboration a bit less surprising.
“Together, we will make faster progress in the race for the mobility of the future. We will utilize the expertise of both companies and take advantage of synergies,” said Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche AG. “We will cooperate wherever it makes sense.”
Stadler added,“We are united by many shared values, above all, by our pursuit of the best solutions and the best offerings for our customers.”
Ultimately, this new partnership is all about cutting costs. As Blume told the Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten, “If both [companies] would act on their own, costs would be 30 percent higher.”
Cooperation between car companies is by no means unprecedented. Indeed, Audi, Porsche, and parent company VW have collaborated for years in building SUVs, but now, the firms are turning their attentions to new technologies. In the next few months, teams comprised of both Audi and Porsche representatives will identify how they can best cooperate, and define their goals for the next seven years. Plans thus far are ambitious — Stadler told Reuters that both companies would like to bring several car models to life beginning, including two sedans and two SUVs.
But just because Porsche and Audi are working together doesn’t mean that they’re melding brands. As Blume emphasized, “We will also be very careful to maintain the differentiation between our brands. A Porsche is always a Porsche, and that will remain so in the future.”
Update: Noted that both Porsche and Audi are subsidiaries of Volkswagen AG.
