Audi confirms three EVs for Oz

Audi Australia has confirmed it will release all three of the battery-powered models its parent company has promised to produce by 2020, including the e-tron quattro SUV, the e-tron Sportback crossover and a compact passenger car yet to be revealed.

The premium German car-maker has committed to producing the large, all-electric SUV and crossover in Brussels next year and in 2019 respectively, followed by a small electric car based on Volkswagen’s compact MEB EV platform the following year.

The brand’s Australian subsidiary has now confirmed that it’s a matter of when, not if, all three EVs become available to Australians.

“Audi sees electric vehicles as a key component of mobility in the future. Earlier this year, [Audi global chief] Rupert Stadler said that by the middle of the next decade, every third Audi delivered to a customer will be either partially or fully electric,” Australia managing director Paul Sansom told motoring.com.au.

“In line with this, Audi Australia sees electrified drivetrains as a fundamental part of its future model line-up, and is preparing to introduce each electric vehicles available to our market as early as possible, as part of an innovative and premium ownership experience that consumers have to come to expect of our brand.

“Essential to this is the expansion of supporting infrastructure, and we are actively involved in discussions with relevant stakeholders to drive this forward, particularly as a member of the EV council.”

Audi global boss Rupert Stadler provided more key details of his company’s first EV, which will be called the e-tron, as well as the e-tron Sportback crossover and the yet-to-be-named city-EV in his speech at its Annual Press Conference earlier this year.

“We will launch the Audi e-tron in 2018. You heard me correctly. It’s called quite simply e-tron. With this car, we will make a break from our nomenclature, because it marks a turning point for us. Like the Audi quattro in the 1980s, which already revolutionised the drive concept.

“The battery-electric Audi e-tron is an SUV. In our core competition, it is the first electric car with everyday usability. With a range of more than 500km, a unique driving experience and fantastic design, we will make the electric car into a ‘must-have’ in the coming decade.

“The Audi e-tron Sportback will follow in 2019. We have designed it as a fastback model with an elevated sitting position. Not an SUV, but higher than a standard sedan.

“And in the following year, 2020, we will offer a premium electric car also in the compact segment. This will be based on the VW Group’s modular electrification platform (MEB).”

Audi was among the first premium brands in Australia to release a plug-in hybrid model in the form of its A3 Sportback e-tron. However, that model is currently unavailable here as Audi Australia awaits stocks of the facelifted version.

The updated A3 e-tron will be released Down Under later this year alongside the plug-in hybrid Q7 e-tron – Audi Australia’s second electrified model – which was originally due on sale here last year.

Audi says the Q7 e-tron’s later than forecast arrival is due to production delays and concerns with market positioning, which is expected to be in line with the high-performance SQ7 ($153,616 plus ORCs).

Audi has sold about 120 A3 e-trons in Australia since August 2015 – well below its initial projection of 10 sales a month -- but is yet to release any further electrified models.

The original Q5 hybrid was not produced in right-hand drive, Audi Australia chose not to import the A6 hybrid and since the A3 e-tron arrived here two years ago its direct rivals have released plug-in hybrid versions of the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Sport and Volvo XC90.

Going one step further, zero-emission pure-electric vehicles face significant hurdles in Australia, where limited regional charging infrastructure includes 12 Tesla superchargers on the east coast, and plans for an ‘electric super highway’ the length of Queensland’s coastline.

While the e-tron SUV will be a direct rival for large all-electric SUVs like the Tesla Model X and Jaguar’s upcoming I-PACE, next year will also see Audi release its all-new SUV flagship, the Q8, based on the next-generation A8 limousine due here next year.

Audi’s large e-tron models will be based on the Audi-engineered C-BEV battery-electric modular chassis architecture, which will underpin all of the Volkswagen Group’s premium SUV and crossover models, including those from Porsche and Bentley.

Apart from a claimed range of 500km, both e-tron models should deliver up to 370kW of electric power to all four wheels via a pair of electric motors, enabling them to hit 100km in just 4.5 seconds.

Meantime, VW family’s second premium battery-electric vehicle (BEV) platform is the Porsche-developed J1 architecture, which has been designed for low-riding sedan, liftback, coupe and even convertible applications and will be the basis of BEVs from Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Volkswagen and possibly even Lamborghini.

Finally, Volkswagen’s MEB platform will form the basis of Audi’s third EV and other small-to-medium cars and SUVs.