This week has honestly flown by, and it was hard to believe that Wednesday was already our final company site visit before presentations and the end of the program started approaching. Our last visit was to Audi, and I was especially excited for this one because after spending so much time researching BMW for our presentation, I was interested to compare Audi’s production process, company culture, and overall approach to the automotive industry.
Before the tour started, we had some free time to explore the Audi gift shop and grab food. Compared to BMW’s gift shop, Audi’s definitely felt much more sleek and luxury-focused. There were expensive clothing items, accessories, and limited souvenirs throughout the store. I ended up buying an Audi t-shirt for my brother, which I thought was a pretty cool souvenir to bring home.
Once we split into smaller groups, the factory tour began. I think having smaller groups made this tour much more enjoyable because everyone was actually able to clearly see and hear everything throughout the experience. One thing that immediately stood out to me was how much technology was incorporated into the tour itself. Each of us received a smartphone device that showed videos and visuals explaining different production steps while our guide talked us through the process. I thought this made the tour much easier to follow compared to some of the earlier factory visits.
What surprised me most during the Audi tour was actually the amount of human involvement within the factory. While there were still many robots and automated systems throughout production, there seemed to be more humans actively working alongside the robots compared to what I saw at BMW. The production lines felt very organized and synchronized, with both humans and robots contributing to the assembly process together. It was interesting watching workers individually place and inspect parts on the vehicles as they moved through production. We also got to see the testing area where each vehicle is driven and inspected before leaving the facility. Our guide explained that Audi has strict regulations during testing to preserve the condition of the vehicle so it can still officially be sold as “new.” That level of detail really reflected how much care and precision goes into every vehicle.
After the tour, we ate lunch in Audi’s cafeteria, which honestly had one of the biggest food selections I have ever seen. I ended up getting pork schnitzel, fruit, and a mint melon lemonade, and it was honestly one of my favorite meals of the trip so far.
After returning to Augsburg, the rest of the evening was spent working on our presentations with our groups and getting prepared for presentation day. A few of us also bought our train tickets to Salzburg for our free day on Friday, which made me even more excited for the final part of the trip. Overall, the Audi visit felt like a great final company tour and a really positive way to close out the industrial portion of the program.
