Audi's E-Tron electric SUV to roll off line in 2019
- by Xavier Trudeau
- in Financer
- — Sep 22, 2018
The e-tron will be the first of three battery-electric vehicles that Audi plans to debut by 2020. Audi will partner with online retailer Amazon to sell and install home electric vehicle charging systems to buyers of the e-tron, the companies said on Monday. Two models of the Audi e-tron will be available next year: The Premium Plus starting at $74,800, and the Prestige starting at $81,800.
Intel's Shooting Star drones have featured in many drone light shows to date, and the computing giant now holds the world record for the largest number of drones flown in unison when it celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year.
Audi intends to unveil an e-tron GT concept vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this year, the coupé developed in conjunction with Porsche.
Before E-Tron, German brands like Mercedes-Benz pulled the curtain apart earlier this September to announce the coming of its own electric SUV, the Mercedes-Benz EQC - the vehicle touted to take Tesla head on.
What do you think of the Audi E-tron?
The recent e-vehicles boom among the top-ranked auto beasts will inevitably shake Tesla's dominance in the market of premium electric cars.
The Audi e-tron appears much like any other of the German brand’s SUVs
Though headlines deem every new electric offering a "Tesla Killer" and automakers around the world have been coveting Tesla's stock valuation and clean-car reputation for years, the series of events shows Elon Musk's company is on the verge of seeing more serious competition from the leaders in automotive luxury.
It looks like we will be getting an Audi E-Tron Sportback model after all as Audi reveal some additional detail about the upcoming model. Audi says the e-tron's regenerative braking is best in class, and together with the aforementioned heat pump, the vehicle maker seems to be taking real-world range issues seriously. That's twice as much as Tesla's charging station, whose installation is arranged by Tesla itself. Electrify America's chargers are capable of delivering up to 350 kW.
The e-tron is a full-size SUV, measuring 4.9 metres long and with a 2.9-metre wheelbase. It is powered by two electric motors - one powering each axle combining for 300kW and 660Nm.
Audi said the use of such smart factory technology made the increasing complexity and broad spectrum of variants in vehicle production manageable.
Another cool feature on the e-tron is the camera based side view mirrors (not really mirror now huh). However, in many other respects the e-tron is a conventional, mainstream luxury SUV.
Also in the e-tron's favor is the placement of the center console screens, which are slightly oriented towards the driver, unlike the ones in the Q8.
