AUDI E-TRON: THE EPITOME OF SUSTAINABLE LUXURY

Nature has spoiled us with the luxury of the most magnificent and diverse world to live, work, and play in. Taking inspiration from this idea, Audi’s Head of Marketing, Tarryn Knight, and South African Freediving Champion and Ocean Conservationist, Hanli Prinsloo, joined forces to explore the sustainable luxury of Audi’s e-tron.

Growing up on a horse farm just outside of Johannesburg, the closest ocean to Hanli was over 10 hours away but, from a young age, she had a love for the water and dreamt of being a mermaid. Years later, she can successfully call herself one as she spends her days exploring, loving, and protecting our oceans.

While studying and working as an actress in Sweden, Hanli was first introduced to free diving and was hooked. Hanli was the first South Africa to hold all six freediving records simultaneously and broke eleven South African records during her competitive years.

Through her diving experiences, Hanli developed a deeper understanding of the impact we have on our oceans. As a result, she founded the I AM WATER Foundation, an ocean conservation trust dedicated to conserving and protecting the world’s oceans through human experience.

Hanli’s life is centred around living more sustainably. With every choice she makes, she is aware of the impact it has on our blue planet, especially when it comes to her mode of transport.

With six fully electric vehicles launched this year, Audi South Africa is making the much-needed shift away from fossil fuels and towards sustainable resources, something that truly represents what Hanli believes in. This week, we joined Hanli and Audi’s Head of Marketing, Tarryn Knight for a sustainable day in Cape Town, driving the new Audi e-tron.

“The world we live in is hard to navigate without a car [but] the impact a fuel driven vehicle has on the environment has always worried me,” explains Hanli, “so a truly electric vehicle is like taking a huge step into the future.” Committing to only launch fully electric new models from 2026 on, the brand is proving that you don’t have to compromise on luxury for sustainability.

“The Audi e-tron has all of the luxury features you’ve come to expect from a luxury SUV, there are no compromises, so sustainability isn’t about compromising anymore,” says Tarryn. Progress and living sustainably is made through incremental steps, a sentiment Tarryn strongly believes in.

“You don’t have to take one big leap every day, it’s about taking a different decision and moving in that direction, and when it comes to adopting electric vehicles, which will have such a big impact, it’s about just considering it, finding out more and actually trying it out,” she says. The key shift in preserving the world we live in is to see ourselves as part of it, not apart from it.

“We’ve come to a point where we have to rethink what luxury is and to me, luxury is knowing that my everyday actions won’t destroy the beautiful natural world around me,” explains Hanli, “I think in that way the Audi e-tron really is the standard for sustainable luxury.”

With the number of electric vehicle rapid charging stations ballooning, it’s easier by the day to recharge anywhere, from your shopping centre to the gym, with the easiest place being from the comfort of your own home.

“80% of charging happens in the home. When you get home, you plug it in and you start the new day with a fully charged vehicle,” says Tarryn. In addition, there are over 400 charging stations and connections spread out across South Africa. When she needs to recharge, Hanley heads for the sea.

“Over 70% of the planet is water, over 70% of the human body is water. We are connected to the ocean, it is crucial to human survival on this planet. Without our ocean, we won’t have oxygen to breathe. The ocean is as important for human life as every breath you take,” she says.

Living and driving in harmony with your environment is hungry work. And when the appetite for eating out bites, one of the tastiest, healthiest eateries is run by Chef Laura Kropman of Veld and Sea.

“It’s important to eat from the land, to eat from gardens that you’ve grown yourself because it cuts the gap between where your foods come from and when you’re eating it, she says. Veld and Sea are renowned for its seasonal, wild food foraging classes and learning how luxurious a menu nature provides can be.

There is no simple solution for sustainability but a future less dependent on fossil fuels is still a future filled with luxury.

WIN

Stand a chance to win a chauffeured ride in the new Audi e-tron and a lunch and yoga class, for two, at Spirit Cafe. To enter, simply reply to the competition post on The Insider SA’s social media pages.