Stefan Knirsch

摘要

Stefan Knirsch took over as chief of Audi research and development in January. His predecessor, Ulrich Hackenberg, retired after the diesel emissions scandal. The VW Group as a whole has put aside $18 billion to fix the mess. Will Knirsch be able to protect other development, or will his whole effort be directed to fixing up the diesels? "No, our R & D spending is up," he says. "We at Audi are the group center for large engines, the longitudinal engine platform, piloted [autonomous] driving, fuel cells, and more." The question remains, though: Is diesel dead in the U.S.? "It isn't," Knirsch says. "Customers and dealers have said Audi Q models must come with diesel engines. They have a 550-mile range in U.S. conditions." But Audi has also been accelerating its electrification program. "The e-tron crossover will be on sale by the end of 2018, and it will have a 500-kilometer [312-mile] range" on the European cycle.