Audi said engineers at its California Electronic Research Labs believe that the next step in reducing carbon dioxide emissions will come through "connected" vehicles.

Audi is currently working with three California universities on six multiyear research projects under the umbrella, “Clean Air, a Viable Planet.” The projects are focused on reducing CO2 emissions through more intelligent interactions between drivers and their cars, interactions among cars, and the collection and distribution of real-time traffic pattern information.

Audi researchers are working with the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Riverside, and Stanford University.

"The path between two points can be measured in distance, but it can also be measured in the amount of carbon dioxide that our vehicles emit," said Daniel Rosario, Audi’s manager of Connected Vehicles. "We believe that information provided by connected vehicles will allow a driver to decide the best route to achieve the lowest CO2 emissions."

Rosario added that the technology to connect vehicles exists today but must be integrated into an intelligent vehicle network. "The goal is sustainable transportation," he said. "Driving behavior can improve fuel efficiency by 20%. This initiative could improve that by another 20%."