German automotive manufacturer Audi has brought their dream of an all-electric future to Montreal with its North American debut of the House of Progress. Having taken place in Montréal, Canada, this past October 13-16, after stops in Tokyo, São Paolo and Milan for Design Week, the House of Progress is Audi’s vision for the future through digitalization, sustainability, design, and performance. Held at the Cirque Éloize, Montréal’s first train station, the free event allowed the public to stroll through a display of the brand’s history of performance and design with a look toward the future. The future, of course, is the brand’s desire to have a fully EV lineup by 2025, with the event’s centrepiece being Audi’s grandsphere concept car.
Audi’s House of Progress aims to spark engaging conversation amongst thought-leaders across multiple disciplines and industries to visualize a better tomorrow. Featuring an array of panellists like Astronaut Chris Hadfield, Architect Omar Gandhi, Founder and President of Electric Autonomy Canada Nino Di Cara, and many more. As is to be expected, many conversations focused on the challenges surrounding global climate change, sustainability, and innovation in practices that maintain our way of life while improving our impact on the environment—all issues we are facing in 2022.
While in Montreal we got a chance to chat with Joseph Ottorino, Head of Marketing at Audi Canada about what the brand is hoping with taking the House of Progress on tour.
Q: What is Audi’s intention with doing these House of Progress events around the world?
Audi’s House of Progress is a global platform focused on sharing Audi’s vision for the future. The House of Progress experience highlights Audi’s current e-tron lineup and offers a glimpse of tomorrow’s first-class automotive comfort with the Audi grandsphere concept.
In bringing the House of Progress to Montreal, it was important to us to engage with Canadians across the country by providing a platform for productive discussions about the future and what needs to be done to move us all forward. House of Progress in Montreal was the first to feature panel discussions with global thought leaders who shared their opinions on this subject. Our aim now is to ensure these meaningful conversations continue.
Q: Why bring House of Progress to Montreal?
When telling the story of progress, sometimes, you go back to the beginning; what better place to start than at Montréal’s first train station built in 1884? Montréal is the perfect place to launch the House of Progress in Canada because it is a city known to be at the forefront of creativity and innovation, a city that advocates for the planet, and it’s a city that has truly embraced the EV lifestyle.
Q: Is there anything actionable and or useful emerging from these events that Audi is adopting into their overall sustainability program?
As a platform dedicated to progress, we asked ourselves: how can the House of Progress actually help Canada progress?
Our goal coming out of House of Progress Montreal was, and is, to bring attention to all of the areas that require progress and dig deep into how we can drive this forward together. At Audi, we are always looking at how we can do our part; however, true and lasting progress needs to come from working together and considering all of the different pieces involved and how one industry can impact another. Bringing together thought leaders from a range of industries, resulted in an open dialogue about the overall ecosystem, the challenges and the steps we all need to take to make progress. Dispelling myths and talking through solutions in the interest of keeping Canadians informed.
Secondly, we wanted to inspire Canadians to take action by giving them a straightforward next step, called The Progress Pact. The Progress Pact is an agreement among Canadians to get educated on the current state of charging infrastructure in Canada. Through it, we’re encouraging Canadians to further their EV education and download the PlugShare app to learn about charging stations in their neighbourhood. Understanding the options available to them is a big step in fostering more confidence towards making the move to an electric vehicle.
It’s good to see significant global brands take an active interest in minimizing their impact on the world. By establishing these House of Progress, Audi is giving a space for and inviting meaningful conversation.
Watch all the House of Progress panel discussions on Audi’s YouTube channel.