Audi's new EV SUV concept shows that the company wants to be at the forefront of the premium electromobility revolution.
IHS Automotive perspective | |
Significance | Audi will show its e-tron quattro concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It will pave the way for a production full electric SUV to rival Tesla's Model X which will be launched in three years time, according to a company press release. |
Implications | The vehicle will offer an ICE-like range of 310 miles and will show Audi's new electric vehicle technology which will be a key differentiator for premium brands in the future with higher price points and larger vehicle architectures make EVs a more viable proposition. |
Outlook | The e-tron quattro is a precursor for what will be an exciting and landmark production model for Audi and will position the brand at the forefront of the premium EV market a few years after the company underwent a management reshuffle as VW's board was unhappy at the lack of progress Audi was making with EVs. |
Audi will show its e-tron quattro concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, it will preview a new production electric vehicle (EV) sport utility vehicle (SUV) to rival Tesla's forthcoming Model X and put the brand at the forefront of the premium SUV market. According to a company statement the concept will have a internal combustion engine (ICE)-like range of more than 500 km (310 miles) and will be the main attraction on Audi's stand at next month IAA.
The company claims that the e-tron concept will expand on design and technology themes which were first shown on the Audi "Aerosthetics" concept, with an emphasis on moveable or active aerodynamic elements on the front, sides and rear of the car to improve airflow, while the car's underbody is completely flush in order to give the lowest drag co-efficient possible, which at cd 0.25 is a record for an SUV, according to Audi's own claims.
The model is based on the latest version of Audi's longitudinal MLB platform which packages the battery pack between the front and rear axles and underneath the passenger compartment, giving it a low centre of gravity and sporty driving dynamics. The drivetrain of the e-tron concept is influenced by the work Audi has already done with the R8 e-tron, and features three electric motors – one on the front axle and two on the rear axle. Audi claims that the e-tron quattro will be mid-way between the Q5 and Q7 in terms of size, and will have a conventional five-seat interior format unlike the Model X, which will have seven seats.
Outlook and implications
Despite the work that Audi has done with the R8 e-tron, the e-tron quattro is the first real sign that Audi wants to position itself at the forefront of the premium EV market. The company was initially slow to develop full EVs; so much so that VW's board became extremely dissatisfied with the technical direction that Audi was taking and its lack of progress in developing EVs, which led to the company replacing its former board member for technical development Wolfgang Durheimer (see Germany: 21 June 2013: Audi R&D chief leaves company – report) with Ulrich Hackenberg. Under Hackenberg, Audi's EV and plug-in (P-HEV) programme has accelerated and the brand is now fully engaged with electromobility as befits Audi's traditional positioning as a technology-orientated brand. Premium brands have an inbuilt advantage in terms of introducing EV and P-HEV powertrains over more mainstream automotive brands. The higher price points their vehicles command in general mean they are more able to absorb the costs into the price points of their vehicles of expensive battery cell technology, while the proportion of larger vehicles they make means that battery cells are more easily accommodated and packaged in a wider range of their vehicle line-ups. The production version of the e-tron quattro will be launched by 2018, according to Audi, and is likely to be given the Q6 nameplate. It will also use the latest EV battery technology that Audi and VW are investing in, in conjunction with technical partners LG Chem and Samsung, which will give the company's EVs the kind of ICE-equivalent range that will bring a step change in how consumers and the wider public will perceive EVs (see Germany - South Korea: 14 August 2015: South Korea's LG Chem and Samsung SDI to develop EV batteries jointly for Audi's all-new SUV). IHS Automotive currently forecasts that the Q6 will launch in late 2018 and will have strong initial success, with sales of over 40,000 units per annum by the end of the decade.