Audi on Wednesday was a great experience. Personally, I wish we had been able to spend another hour or so there. I definitely liked the Audi facility more than the BMW tour, mainly because the path we took through the factory made you feel as if you were actually on the production line. Cars were flying over your head, and production was moving along beside you as you walked.
Another thing I noticed at the Audi facility, compared to the BMW factory, was the use of a less automated workforce. At BMW, there seemed to be little to no actual manpower involved. I personally trust human hands more than machines, so this was something I definitely liked seeing. I think it could also potentially point to Audi’s values of wanting to preserve their valued workforce, even if it may not be best for the company’s bottom line and profitability.
We were also able to get lunch in the Audi cantina. This was leaps and bounds better than what BMW had. There were so many options, including pasta shaped like the Audi rings. The food was definitely pricey, but that comes with the territory at most museum restaurants unfortunately. However, the gift shop seemed to have very fair prices. My roommate got a very nice official Audi racing jacket for under 70 euros.
One thing I felt BMW did better was the final step of the tour, where you actually saw the cars being rolled out. We did not spend much time there at Audi, and even with our condensed tour at BMW, we spent about 10 minutes watching a new car roll out every 59 seconds.
Another cool thing Audi did was having cars you could sit in at the beginning of the tour. As we learned, Audi is trying to stay traditional and differentiate itself from the Chinese market by using minimal screens. That does not mean minimal technology though. Audi proved that very quickly at the beginning of the tour.
Another similarity between Audi and BMW was the use of KUKA robots in the automation process, along with using a similar process to paint the cars. Something else I thought was interesting was how both tour guides previously worked within the company before becoming designated tour guides. For example, the Audi guide previously worked in quality control for car door production.
One last thing that was interesting to hear about was the number of employees who live in the Ingolstadt area. The economy of Ingolstadt is almost solely dependent on and driven by generations of people who have worked for Audi.
After the tour, I was able to explore the city a little more and tried Rice Bar. I will definitely say that the Chinese food back home is better.
