What Fermín Soneira (Gijón, 1972) is the head of Audi’s electric vehicle division is not by chance. He grew up among motors, he helped his father repair cars in the family workshop in his native Gijón. He studied industrial engineering to be in the creative part, the one that decided how cars should be. Today marks the path of the future of the brand with the four rings, which from 2026 will only launch 100% electric models.
—Is it realistic to imagine that there will only be electric cars in twelve years?
—The total park is impossible. What I can imagine is that in twelve years the cars that are registered will be 100% electric or almost 100% electric, also in Spain. Although it is now very difficult to see, we believe that it will be so.
—What is needed for electric to position itself as a response to mobility needs in Spain?
“Two things are needed. One is the charging infrastructure with points located in the right places. And secondly, teaching is needed. You have to explain to customers what an electric vehicle is and they need to try it. Those who have had it do not return to the combustion engine. You have to remove handicaps such as autonomy and charging speed. For example, with the Audi Q8 e-tron we have autonomy of up to almost 600 kilometers (more than 450 real kilometers) and in a 170 kW charger you can recover from 10 to 80% in half an hour, which allows you to make a trip from my Gijón native to Seville, about 800 kilometers, with a stop of half an hour.
—How long will it take for sales of electrified models in Spain to surpass those of combustion?
—I think it will be seen before 2030. It will come by itself because the handicaps that we have mentioned will have ceased to exist. Before we have talked about autonomy and charging speed, but there is a third handicap, which is the price, which at the moment is equaling those of combustion. If we also put into the equation the cost of energy/fuel plus the cost of maintenance, we will see that in many cases the electric models are cheaper than the gasoline ones. So I think that the change is going to go faster than we think.
—Are electrified models, beyond temporary crises such as the semiconductor crisis, the war in Ukraine or energy prices, are they leaving the middle and working classes out of access to mobility?
The situation we are in is not normal. Let’s hope it’s a circumstantial and not structural issue and that we’ll return to normality in a short time. Brands have a job, which is that these new technologies, which are expensive to develop, democratize their prices so that they are more accessible to everyone. This democratization will reach all segments. But you have to take into account the whole equation, not only the cost of acquisition, but also the cost of maintenance. To achieve this, it is necessary to make the public understand that the electric car is an option with a lot of sense. You also have to avoid distracting customers with all the variants, which is leading them to the worst option, which is not to change cars. This causes the park to age, which in the case of Spain is one of the oldest in Europe, with an average age of 13 years. This is a bad solution for the environment, for the industry and for the customer, who drives a vehicle that pollutes a lot and is less safe. The electric vehicle is here to stay, it is not a fad, it is viable and it has many advantages.
—Is the semiconductor crisis going to hinder the transition to the electric car?
It’s a complicated crisis. What is clear to me is that in 2023 it will not be solved. Now the brands are in high demand and there is not enough supply, which causes long waiting lists, especially for electric models, which shows that there is interest in this type of car.
—What role can other technologies play, such as green hydrogen?
—From an objective analysis there are two weighty arguments in favor of electricity over green hydrogen. The first argument is energy efficiency. To do this, we must start from the fact that the generation of electricity and hydrogen is done with non-polluting renewable energies. Discounting in both cases all the losses from generation to the recharge point, in the case of electricity it reaches 73% and in the case of hydrogen it is only 22%. This is with respect to generation, but if we talk about infrastructure it is also clear. We are talking about the fact that we are struggling with charging points, when a fast charging point costs 100,000 euros and a slow charging point costs 10,000, I do not want to imagine how fast we would go if we had to create a network of hydrogen generators at a cost of one million euros for each of them. In the end, the advantage of the green hydrogen car over the electric one is the charging speed, three minutes compared to thirty. That is the only difference in favor of hydrogen.
biofuel
—And the possibility of biofuel as an alternative?
“I would really like it to come.” Above all because we achieved two things, on the one hand, being able to continue having certain combustion vehicles that are niche. And, furthermore, its use would make it possible to counteract the CO2 emissions of the existing vehicle fleet. I think this solution makes more sense than green hydrogen, what happens is that today its price is very expensive, but it is possible that in five years this type of fuel will be more affordable. If so, it will coexist with the electric one.
—Some European governments are considering stopping encouraging the purchase of electric cars. How do you see it?
—The automobile sector is essential for Europe and especially for Spain, which is the second largest producer country in Europe, representing 9% of GDP, two million direct and indirect jobs. We are in a phase of transformation in which brands need to put competitive products on the market that convince people. But in this phase of transformation, the States have to help.
—The delay in the implementation of the charging infrastructure is not encouraging.
—We must not fall into the pessimism that this is not progressing. I always give the example of Norway, where the sale of electric vehicles this year will be above 75% of the total, I am talking about 100% electric vehicles. In that country ten years ago there was no electricity. It is true that Spain has a different situation, but I believe that this transformation is possible and is also necessary. It is also necessary that there be more local demand for this type of vehicle in Spain to guarantee the viability of its factories, because it may be that some brand can consider supporting factories due to the lack of domestic demand, which is usually a third of the total manufacturing. from another country.
The German brand with the four rings will present from 2026 only 100% plug-in vehicles
—As of what range is a battery considered too heavy?
—Anyone who hasn’t driven an electric car may think they need a range of 1,000 kilometers, but you don’t. In fact, I am convinced that in a short time we will be talking more about consumption and efficiencies than autonomy. The important thing is efficiency, as you can see in the Q8 e-tron, where we have put a lot of focus on aerodynamics, which leads us to reduce consumption. I think 600 kilometers is enough. Putting more autonomy is putting more weight and that leads to increasing consumption. In the following generations of batteries, such as solid-state batteries, we will be able to achieve more kilometers of autonomy with the same weight.
—Electrifying the entire range means giving up markets like Asia, Africa or South America?
-Nope. We do not give up anything. It is necessary to see in each country what demand there is for a combustion engine. Leaving Europe aside, we see that electrification in the US and China are going at very similar speeds. It is true that there are other regions in the world where the demand is behind. If we talk about Audi, a premium brand, we have to look at what sales we have. What we are not going to do is specific combustion cars for countries or regions that are not electrified.
—When will Audi stop manufacturing cars with combustion engines?
—In 2026 it will surely be the last presentation of an Audi combustion model, but that car will be in production for seven years. This means that we will stop producing them in 2033. By then we are convinced that the market for premium electric vehicles in Europe, China and the US will be established.
—What does the Spanish market mean for Audi?
—It is one of the five large markets in Europe, and Europe is the most important region for us worldwide.
—Completely electrifying the Audi range will force models to be buried and others to be created. What models are going to disappear and in what segment will the novelties arrive?
—Neither the A1 nor the Q2, the smaller models, will have continuity. There will be a phase in which electric and combustion models will coexist in the same segment or in similar segments, with which there will be a certain duplicity until the new electric ones are consolidated. On the PPE platform, we will launch a Q6 e-tron with a derivative that will be the A6 e-tron, which is a very important segment for Audi, and which will soon hit the market.
—What do you expect from the Q8 e-tron?
—It brings together the essence of what we want an electric Audi to be. It was born with the DNA of Audi with all-wheel drive, but above all I would highlight the quality of its exterior and interior finishes. I would also highlight its soundproofing which, although it seems a contradiction because it does not have a combustion engine, requires work on other aerodynamic and rolling noises that remain exposed. I would also highlight the agility in driving that is typical of Audi’s DNA. And we have also worked a lot on improving autonomy and recharging speed. It brings together what we want an electric Audi to be.
– What audience is it aimed at?
—In Europe we expect 70% to be private customers and the remaining 30% to fleets.
—The landing of Chinese brands in Europe triggers the premium segment. Are they a danger? How are you going to counter them?
—We take them into account but they are not a danger. Any competitor that arrives we take seriously, but we are not afraid. More than anything because beyond the fascinating machine that is the car it is much more, it is also all the assistance infrastructure that surrounds it and it is the heritage and prestige of a brand that gives values that are not created overnight. the morning. It may be that some competitor is better than us in some aspect and that will motivate us to continue improving.