GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Audi's first EV revealed… sort of

The battery-powered Audi e-tron is so close you can almost, well, see it.

But rather than unveiling the finished design of its first electric vehicle at this week's Geneva motor show, Audi decided to cover pre-production prototypes of the e-tron SUV with a camouflage wrap and drive them around the Swiss city.

This could be because the e-tron is still months away from its European launch later this year (and its Australian launch in 2019), but the absence from Geneva of the production e-tron - or any meaningful information about it - is a dramatic departure for Audi, which has a long tradition of revealing spectacular show cars.

Audi's disgraced former technical boss, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, who was fired over his part in the #dieselgate scandal, previously stated that Audi would "present an all-electric, luxury-class sports SUV in early 2018" and in a sense the brand has delivered.

But the German car-maker is yet to confirm any details of its futuristic, all-electric five-seat SUV, such as its battery density or its cruising range.

The only tid-bits it revealed in Geneva were that the SUV has "up to 150kW charging capacity" and in 30 minutes is "ready for the next leg of the long-distance journey".

Expect Audi's direct response to the Tesla Model X and Jaguar's upcoming I-PACE to offer a driving range of around 450km per charge.

Whatever the hold up with the official reveal, Audi's new e-tron SUV looks fairly similar to the e-tron quattro concept that preceded it, although whether it gets the almighty 370kW/800Nm output of the show car is not clear.

What we can tell from this cloaked reveal is that the e-tron sits on the sporty side of the Audi design fence. Flared wheel-arches, a ground-hugging stance and bold body kit provide a strong road presence, while continuous horizontal LED lighting strip punctuates the rear-end.

The Audi e-tron SUV will spearhead a three-pronged attack on the EV market, with an e-tron badged Sportback crossover and small car to follow by 2020.

Audi Australia has previously stated it intends to bring all three to market here.

"In 2020 we will have three all-electric vehicles in our product range, with a four-door Gran Turismo - the production version of the Audi e-tron Sportback concept - and a model in the compact segment joining the sporty SUV," said Audi supremo Rupert Stadler.

"We will be launching more than 20 electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 2025 - spread across all segments and concepts."

We've just driven the new Jaguar I-PACE SUV which will be beat the Audi e-tron on sale in Australia, this October.

Jaguar claims its first EV, which will be priced under $120,000, can travel around 480km from a single battery charge.

Powered by two electric motors that bang out 294kW/700Nm, it's said to sprint to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds — which is sports car fast — and offer a top speed of 200km/h.

Expect the Audi e-tron SUV - and Australia's first electric Mercedes-Benz, the EQC SUV, which is also due here in 2019 - to deliver similar performance.