Audi starts working on factory for e-tron GT electric car production in ‘late 2020’

Audi is working on its first electric sedan, the e-tron GT, unveiled at the LA auto show last year. It is now starting preparation work at a factory in Germany to start production in ‘late 2020’.

The Audi e-tron GT impressed many with design when it was unveiled last year.

The German automaker also surprised some by saying that they will be quick to bring the car to market by leveraging the powertrain developed by Porsche for the Taycan.

Here are some of the specs of the Audi e-tron GT concept:

• 4.96-meter (16.3 ft) length, 1.96-meter (6.4 ft) width and 1.38meter (4.5 ft) height
• 434 kilowatts (590 horsepower) system power
• 95 kWh battery mounted below the car and with bumps below seats and cutouts near feet
• 150+kW Fast charging to 70% and a step down from there
• 2 motors, AWD
• Acceleration: 0 to 100 km/h (0-62.1 mph) in around 3.5 seconds before going on to 200 km/h (124.3 mph) in just over 12 seconds. The top speed is regulated at 240 km/h (149.1 mph) to maximize the range
• 285/30 size tires, 22-inch wheels
• Range: Over 400 kilometers (248.5 mi)
• 4 passenger interior
• Driver side charging with the option of additional passenger side charger port
• Storage:  450 liters (15.9 cu ft) of luggage capacity. Frunk: 100 liters (3.5 cu ft) of capacity

Some of the specs are expected to change by the time the car makes it to production as Porsche itself has yet to bring the Taycan to production.

Now Audi announced that the e-tron GT will be built on the same assembly line as the Audi R8 at the Böllinger Höfe factory in Germany in 2020.

Production Manager Wolfgang Schanz commented:

“Since the Böllinger Höfe was already created in the design phase as a small-series production facility with innovative and flexible production processes, that gives us the ideal conditions to produce the e-tron GT alongside the Audi R8. Here a unique combination of craftsmanship and smart factory is coming to life.”

The German automaker is building “two new lightweight construction halls will provide around another 10,000 square meters (107,639.1 sq ft).”

Audi notes that the R8 construction is mostly handcrafted and they are building “a separate, highly automated body shop facility” to support the e-tron GT, which is expected to be a higher volume vehicle.