Luxury buyers like to customize. Porsche offers millions of options and possible combinations for each of the vehicles in its extensive lineup of sports cars, sedans, wagons, and SUVs. Other brands do too, like Audi. However, Audi will adjust its approach following the debut of its new Concept C car, and focus less on customization than on delivering a few extremely high-quality essentials.
Audi
The idea brings to mind another luxury automaker: Mazda. Drive any new Mazda right now and there’s a common thread: the vehicles are largely free of clutter and non-essentials. There are no gimmicky AI-enhanced voice control features that still can’t understand you, or stupid dual-purpose touch controls that distract rather than serve. Instead, Mazda’s cars feature a very small run of physical buttons that, while plastic, feel very nice to use. They do what they should, they work every time, and you know right where they are. If Audi can pull off the same thing at a higher level, the brand could turn the tide.
Audi Hopes Less Can Make It Stand Out More
After all, there’s a lot of change at Audi right now. The brand has a new CEO (as of 2023), is re-orienting its entire lineup, and is navigating the same tough political climate as other automakers. CEO Gernot Döllner says that by slimming down its customization, Audi can offer higher quality essentials to buyers that will help put it ahead of other luxury brands. The less-is-more approach is also very different from that of Mercedes-Benz and BMW at the moment. Both brands insist on offering more features, more tech, and more customization. It puts Audi in a position to potentially buck the trend.
Speaking to AutoExpress, Döllner said the brand wants to focus on slimming down not only the lineup, but also a lot of the bulk in the brand’s options list. He brings up steering wheels, saying Audi has maybe 100 possible combinations. “For example, we believe that we only need three, maybe four different versions of a steering wheel. At the moment, we have over 100!”
Instead, Audi wants to elevate its materials. Audi’s chief creative officer, Massimo Frascella, said: “We can build better quality elements because we’ve reduced.” The Concept C is an early step in the right direction. It features anodized aluminum for the physical controls, and an Audi badge adorning the steering wheel made out of metal, not plastic.
