Enel and Audi sign agreement to develop electric mobility services
Cortina – Enel and Volkswagen Group Italia, distributor of the Audi brand, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the integration of charging services in the offer for the new Audi e-tron, the brand’s first 100% electric car, and to promote and develop electric mobility in the country.
“We want to make the life of those who buy an electric car as simple as possible”, says Francesco Venturini, Head of Enel X. “Thanks to the agreement between Enel and Audi Italia it will be possible to set up and organise all the operations for the installation of a charging infrastructure in your garage with a single partner. Yet another sign that electric mobility is now a simple and economically advantageous alternative.”
“Audi is developing innovative solutions to pave the way to the mobility of the future, from the application of technologies designed to reduce the vehicles’ weight to the production of engines and alternative fuels, from digital applications for interfacing with infrastructure to advanced automated driving systems,”, said Fabrizio Longo, Director of Audi Italia. “The electrification of the product range is a key element of this strategy, and the Audi e-tron will be the first in a series of fully electric models that we will be rolling out starting next year. We decided to embark on the journey towards this extraordinary mobility experience together with Enel to connect the public to a technology that blends respect for the environment with the emotion of driving.”
Thanks to this agreement, product offers will be designed to make life easier for individuals and companies who are considering the switch to electric. Individuals, professionals and small businesses will have the opportunity to combine one or more packages for the charging service, products and other services offered by Enel included in the purchase of the Audi e-tron directly from dealers and the sales network of Audi Italia.
The Audi range currently includes mild-hybrid and hybrid plug-in models. In 2018 Audi will start mass production of its first fully electric SUV: the Audi e-tron. With a range of around 500 km, the Audi e-tron will offer sports-car performance with the traditional safety and driving pleasure offered by the quattro four-wheel drive system. Over the next eight years, Audi will introduce more than 20 electric models to the market.
The Enel Group recently launched Enel X, the company dedicated to the development of electric mobility and digital services for customers, cities, companies and public administration.
To promote the development and spread of electric vehicles in Italy, Enel has launched the company’s National Plan for charging infrastructure that will involve the installation of about 7,000 stations by 2020, to reach a total of 14,000 in 2022. The programme provides for widespread coverage of all Italian regions, with over 2,500 charging stations installed throughout the country in 2018 alone.
The scope of the Plan also includes the EVA+ (Electric Vehicles Arteries) project, co-financed by the European Commission with the participation of Audi, which provides for the installation of 180 fast charging points in three years along Italian extra-urban routes. The first 40 Fast stations have already been installed, making it possible to use an electric car to travel the Rome-Milan route, among others.
Source: enel
