Photo: Audi
The A6 is one of the most successful premium cars in the Chinese marketplace, which in turn is their biggest single market. So it's only fitting that Audi chose the 2014 Beijing Auto Show to launch a production version of the A6 e-tron plug-in hybrid sedan, the most important new midsize we've seen from them in a long time.
Audi did not reveal too much about the specs of the car and the pictures they provided show a concept from two years ago. However, they did say the e-tron is based on the A6L, which has a longer wheelbase of 3,010mm and is built locally by Joint Venture partner FAW. The only other technical piece of information provided is that the pure electric driving range is 50 kilometers. This is in line with similar models by Porsche or Mercedes.
Once the electric power runs out or you're simply in the mood to go faster, an internal combustion engine kicks in. We don't know what that engine is right now, but we can tell you the e-tron concept shown at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show had a 2.0 TFSI engine and an electric motor with an additional 95 hp.
So has Audi done its homework right and found a hybrid the Chinese will actually buy? With pollution being the way it is in major cities across the People's Republic, green vehicles have a certain appeal. And even though the electric charging infrastructure isn't there to support the e-tron, if its electric power runs out it will keep on running just like any other car.
Last year, the German brand sold 491,989 cars in China (including Hong Kong), an increase of 21 percent compared with 2012. So far in 2014, that trend doesn't seem to be changing, as their cumulative sales in Mach grew another 36%. This is by far their biggest market, with about a third of all Audis bought in the world going to customers there.
Zhang Pijie, President of FAW-Volkswagen: “Audi and FAW have been cooperating closely for more than 25 years. Together, we have built up the premium segment in China. Now we are cooperating on the next generation of automobiles.”
So far, there hasn't been a single sighting of the A6 plug-in hybrid in Europe though we expect that's going to change in 2015, after the A6 facelift is launched.
Once the electric power runs out or you're simply in the mood to go faster, an internal combustion engine kicks in. We don't know what that engine is right now, but we can tell you the e-tron concept shown at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show had a 2.0 TFSI engine and an electric motor with an additional 95 hp.
So has Audi done its homework right and found a hybrid the Chinese will actually buy? With pollution being the way it is in major cities across the People's Republic, green vehicles have a certain appeal. And even though the electric charging infrastructure isn't there to support the e-tron, if its electric power runs out it will keep on running just like any other car.
Last year, the German brand sold 491,989 cars in China (including Hong Kong), an increase of 21 percent compared with 2012. So far in 2014, that trend doesn't seem to be changing, as their cumulative sales in Mach grew another 36%. This is by far their biggest market, with about a third of all Audis bought in the world going to customers there.
Zhang Pijie, President of FAW-Volkswagen: “Audi and FAW have been cooperating closely for more than 25 years. Together, we have built up the premium segment in China. Now we are cooperating on the next generation of automobiles.”
So far, there hasn't been a single sighting of the A6 plug-in hybrid in Europe though we expect that's going to change in 2015, after the A6 facelift is launched.
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