Audi boss Markus Duesmann not only wants to get rid of all petrol and diesel buyers, but also opens up new market segments. The fact that the Ingolstadt company is now even involved in Indian tuk-tuk taxis also has to do with e-mobility.
Because although the rickshaw that the car manufacturer has now presented has an Audi logo emblazoned on it, only the core of the technology comes from Germany: the battery that drives the electric three-wheel taxi comes from old Audi test vehicles. The batteries of the e-tron prototypes enjoy a “second life”, i.e. a second life as a recycled power source. Apprentices from Audi developed the project together with an Indian start-up.
“The aim of the project is to find out how modules made from high-voltage batteries can be reused after they have been used in the car and become a second-life application suitable for everyday use,” says the manufacturer. At the beginning of 2023, the e-rickshaws with second-life batteries should will be on the road for the first time in India as part of a pilot project, where they will be made available to a non-profit organization, Audi says.
Tuk-tuks, as the Indian rickshaw taxis are called, are still an essential pillar of mobility in the populous giant country. In order to reduce the pollution caused by the rattling rickshaws, many drive with natural gas. But now India is also investing heavily in e-mobility.
Since low costs are essential, but raw material prices for batteries continue to rise, the use of recycled power sources makes sense. “Electrically powered rickshaws are already not uncommon on the roads of the subcontinent. But they often drive with lead-acid batteries, which have a relatively short lifespan and are then often not disposed of properly,” says Audi.
So recycling would probably be a win-win situation. In fact, the amount of used e-car batteries that will occur in the future will be in the megaton range. Audi wants to part with all petrol and diesel buyers in no time at all and only offer electric cars in Germany from 2026. It is therefore logical that the manufacturer is already dealing with the use of its old batteries. In fact, a “worn out” battery can still be used for certain applications – Nissan, for example, used old batteries from the Leaf electric car as stationary power storage.
And even if the battery is completely “flat”, it can still be used to store raw materials. All car manufacturers from VW to BMW to Mercedes that rely entirely or largely on e-mobility are currently researching how battery recycling can open up a new business area.
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