Audi sold almost 50,000 e-tron electric SUVs in 2020 – a significant increase over last year and launching Audi’s electrification effort ahead of new models hitting the market.
The 2021 Audi e-tron electric SUV is coming and the German automaker has made a few interesting updates, including a new optional 22 kW onboard charger and a new steering wheel.
In the late summer, we were given the keys to Audi’s second all-electric car, the E-Tron Sportback, and while there is much to admire, it has taken us a little longer than usual to broadcast. Why? Well, there has always seemed to be more affordable, and in turn more accessible, electric cars to talk about to the public, including the VW ID.4, VW ID.3, Honda e, Tesla Model Y, and most recently the Mazda MX-30.
Slowly but surely, car companies are offering increasingly cost-competitive vehicles, but Audi is going against that grain by offering an even more expensive EV at the second time of asking. We understand that Audi is a luxury carmaker, but we feel compelled to ask, does this strategy stack up? Or could this short-sightedness potentially cost them in the long run? Let’s take a closer look.
The German auto industry and its 800,000 jobs are threatened if it can’t transition to EVs fast enough. The country’s politicians, and automotive executives, have a unified message. As Bavaria’s prime minister Markus Söder put it today: “Tesla is not bad, but others can do it too.”
Today, Audi unveils the Q4 Sportsback e-tron concept, a concept vehicle on which an upcoming ~$45,000 sleek electric SUV is going to be based on. Expand Expanding Close
In late May, Audi announced the launch of a new agile team to push the envelope on electric and autonomous technology. Volkswagen’s luxury brand said the so-called Artemis project would work on a pioneering vehicle. Autocar reports today that Audi will develop an all-electric flagship sedan to showcase that technology.
An Audi e-tron S prototype, with a tri-motor electric powertrain, has been spotted testing its performance on the Nürburgring racetrack. Expand Expanding Close
Audi today announced the launch of a new team group called “Artemis,” and they plan to develop an “efficient electric car” to come to market by 2024. Expand Expanding Close
Audi developed an interesting all-in-one electric vehicle charging system with batteries built inside a container with a gull-wing-like door system. Expand Expanding Close
Despite all the hype about high levels of vehicle autonomy, drivers always need to keep their hands on the wheel. Audi had planned to be the first automaker to introduce so-called Level 3 autonomy, where you could take your eyes off the road and let the car drive. But the combination of legislative uncertainty and a patchwork approach to the technology led the German automaker to give up self-driving plans for the next A8 due next year.
Audi announced today that the Sportback version of its e-tron EV will hit dealerships this summer with a starting price of $77,400. The extra few thousand dollars above the existing e-tron SUV brings a sleeker sportback silhouette and a boost to 218 miles of range.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz will both have pure-electric, large luxury sedans in the next year or two. Those models will join the Tesla Model S in the field of full-size EV sedans. But Audi this week said that it decided against an all-electric A8. Instead, the German luxury brand will equip the A8 with a plug-in hybrid with about 30 miles of electric range.
We’re coming up on the first anniversary of Audi announcing its plans to introduce 20 new EVs in the next four years. The Volkswagen luxury brand yesterday posted a summary of its plans, repeating the goal of making 800,000 EVs a year by 2025 – using, count ‘em, four different EV platforms.
It might seem strange to have more platforms than cars at this stage. But Audi told us about the method to their madness.