Audi’s Electric Mobility Showcase Saw 1.4 Million Kilometers (869,919 Miles) Of Travel

More than 1.4 million kilometers (869,919.7 miles) of travel was undertaken via Audi’s Electric Mobility Showcase — which saw 80 Audi A1 e-tron prototypes and 40 production models of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron put to general use during the 4-year trial program conducted jointly with the German government — according to a new press release.

Both of the models used during the trial apparently fared well, with the company receiving positive feedback on both. Interestingly, though, user satisfaction seemed to depend heavily on how easily the user/owner was able to charge their vehicle.

Here’s some background on the project (via the press release):

The first phase of the project with the Audi A1 e-tron lasted one year and yielded valuable findings from the more than 550,000 test kilometers (341,754.2 miles) covered. Specific issues were investigated in the individual locations of Berlin, Nuremberg, Munich, Stuttgart, Ingolstadt, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. These included a new system for the charging and communications infrastructure and how electric mobility can be coordinated with the supply of green electricity to homes.

…In the second phase of the Electric Mobility Showcase program, the trial participants in the 40 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron cars used all-electric mode for 70% of the distances traveled. Though the compact models with their plug-in hybrid technology are also well suited to long journeys, the test drivers usually covered less than 50 kilometers (31.1 miles) a day. As a result, they stayed within the vehicles’ electric range. In fact, around half of all routine trial trips made by the users were shorter than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). One participant, who had a particularly fuel-efficient driving style, refueled only once during a five-month period, despite covering 7,700 kilometers (4,784.6 miles) in his Audi trial car.

Considering the dearth of public electric vehicle charging stations in Germany it should come as no surprise that most participants in the program stated that they would like to see more available on that front.