Porsche and Audi greenlight cooperation on shared architecture for electric and autonomous vehicles

Well it’s not exactly surprising since Porsche and Audi are both premium automakers under the Volkswagen group, but they made it official today. The two German automakers announced that they are now sharing a vehicle architecture strategy for “electrification, digitization, and autonomous driving.”

They will cooperate and create teams from both companies to work on the next generation of vehicles coming out of each brand.

Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, made the announcement:

“The best brains of both companies will together set the technical course for the future. We are united by many shared values, above all, by our pursuit of the best solutions and the best offerings for our customers.”

Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche AG, added:

“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. We will cooperate wherever it makes sense. But 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.”

It’s likely to involve sharing components for different upcoming electric and autonomous models.

Audi and Porsche are both planning to soon release new electric vehicles with different levels of autonomous features. Audi has the e-tron quattro coming next year and Porsche is expected to release its highly anticipated Mission E in 2019, but those are probably too deep into their development programs to see results from the new collaboration.

Featured Image: Prof. Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, beside the concept car Audi e-tron quattro at the International Auto Show 2015 in Frankfurt/Main.