Audi wants to increase the use of secondary materials in vehicles where it is technically feasible and makes ecological and economic sense. The aim is to increase the use of raw materials for new purposes after their initial usage has ended.

Audi has therefore been testing approaches to implement this in the MaterialLoop program since 2023. After initially focusing on technical feasibility, the company has now developed and implemented an economically viable recycling concept for recyclates from end-of-life vehicles together with its partner TSR Resource. In this process, steel scrap from vehicles at the end of their life cycle is turned into high-quality post-consumer secondary material and secured for further use in the automotive supply chain.

In the first stage of expansion, starting in 2025, Audi will make several thousand preproduction vehicles available for recycling. These will be shredded by TSR Resource and processed into high-quality recycled raw materials for further use in the automotive industry. In return, Audi will have access to the secondary material obtained from these vehicles, which will be credited to a so-called digital material account. Potential material and part suppliers can access this credit balance as part of a tendering process. This gives potential contractual partners of Audi exclusive access to high-quality recycled steel raw materials that can otherwise be subject to significant price fluctuations.

Audi plans to implement the process for additional material flows and vehicles. All raw materials that Audi currently purchases or will purchase in the future with a binding recyclate content for its vehicles are eligible. The recycling concept allows the company to procure these raw materials more independently of market-related cost fluctuations.

Audi Board Member for Procurement Renate Vachenauer: “Recycling holds tremendous potential. We are constantly working to increase the proportion of recycled materials in our vehicles. With the digital material account, Audi is pioneering a system in the automotive industry through which it can procure valuable recycled raw material resources more independently of the market. Audi demonstrates that sustainability and economics go hand in hand.”