The new Audi Q8 e-tron - materials from recycling processes

The Audi Q8 e-tron arrives at customers in Europe and the U.S. as a certified, balance sheet CO2-neutral car. From as early as 2025, it should be possible to operate all Audi plants in a CO2-neutral balance sheet. Brussels has been so far since 2018, Győr and the Böllinger Höfe since 2020. In addition, Audi uses recycled materials in some components of the Audi Q8 e-tron. These materials, reprocessed via a recycling process, reduce the use of resources and ensure a closed and therefore efficient and sustainable material cycle. In the interior of the Audi Q8 e-tron, Audi uses recyclates in insulation and damping materials as well as in carpets. The decorative inlay, known as the tech layer above the display, is available with a novel, anthracite-colored tech fabric made partly from recycled PET bottles. In the S line equipment line, the sports seats are upholstered in Dinamica microfiber material and imitation leather. Dinamica consists of up to 45 percent polyester fibers, but is visually and haptically reminiscent of suede. The fibers are made from recycled PET bottles, former textiles or fiber scraps. In contrast to the previous microfiber quality, the production of Dinamica is also solvent-free - a further contribution to environmental protection. In addition, safety-relevant components are used which, for the first time, have been produced proportionally from mixed automotive plastic waste via a chemical recycling process: the plastic covers of the seat belt buckles. As part of the PlasticLoop project, Audi has established an innovative process together with plastics manufacturer LyondellBasell based on the findings of a pilot project, in which chemical recycling is to be used for the first time to recycle mixed automotive plastic waste in series production of the Q8 e-tron at Audi. In this process, together with LyondellBasell, plastic components from customer vehicles that can no longer be repaired are first dismantled, freed from foreign materials such as metal clips, shredded and processed by chemical recycling into pyrolysis oil, which is used as a raw material for the production of new plastics by mass balance2.