"A Marathon, Rather Than A Sprint": Markus Schuster, Managing Director of Audi Singapore, On The Electric Vehicle Market

The Audi Q8 e-tron is Audi’s flagship, top-of-the-line electric SUV, and is a subtle visual change from the e-tron it replaces. A little too subtle, in fact, apart from a new illuminated grille that you would definitely spot coming up your rear-view mirror.

But Markus Schuster, Managing Director of Audi Singapore, is confident that the car signals that Audi has listened to customer feedback - its two key improvements are range as well as charging capacity and speed, which Markus says are the top concerns highlighted by Singaporeans about owning an EV.

The Q8 55 e-tron now has up to 600 km of range thanks to having the biggest battery capacity in its class, which is roughly 50% more than the predecessor, the e-tron. It can also be juiced up from 10% to 80% in roughly half an hour, which is quicker than what most of us take to lim kopi. For those of us who care to eat vegan, you’d also be happy to know that 100% of the production of the Q8 e-tron is now 100% Co2 neutral.

Markus hopes that cars like the Q8 e-tron as well as the upcoming Q4 e-tron and Q6 e-tron, which will arrive next year, will continue to gain new customers to the Audi brand. In particular, the Q4 e-tron is slated to be particularly accessible for the Singapore market, which we reckon will likely see Audi’s share of the Singapore EV market increase from the current 10% figure. Already, Audi’s electric vehicles have brought in customers who were previously not Audi drivers. Markus says this is a ‘very good’ trend for a car brand as it conquests new target groups.

He calls the EV market a ‘marathon, rather than a sprint’ for Audi, with several factors that need to be in place before the adoption rate increases in a hockey stick fashion. Markus forecasts that the tipping point in Singapore will come sometime around 2025/2026. Some factors are out of Audi’s control, such as the national charging network, although Markus is confident that this is being rapidly built up. Of course, Audi has and will continue to do its part, and one key initiative is Audi Destination Charging, which already operates at 12 ‘hotspot’ locations across Singapore offering 38 charging points.

Audi is also banking on the ‘brand experience’ which will meet the ‘high expectations’ of Singapore drivers, not least because of the amount of money they will part with to own a car in Singapore. Initiatives like myAudiworld (offering special access to discounts and events), House of Progress earlier this year as well as the Audi Service App offer an omnichannel experience that allows regular touch points with the customer.

The marathon that Markus alluded to seems to be truly running indeed, as all of Audi’s new model introductions from 2026 will be EVs. Markus also made it very clear that Audi’s ICE models will be phased out in the 2030s. Will we still have the COE system then? Who knows - but even if we don’t get to own our cars, at least there is ‘Audi on demand’ to ensure we will still get a taste of the Audi experience, no matter the size of our budgets.

Photos by New Gen Marketing

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