Photo: Audi
On the sidelines of the e-tron SUV reveal in San Francisco, Audi has once again outlined the plans it has to flood the market with electric vehicles in the mid-term future.
There’s no secret that all of these plans Audi has are linked to the future success of the SUV introduced on Monday. A nameplate that, for all its worth, was not synonymous with success.
Back in 2009, the brand first announced its electrification strategy and started rolling out e-trons: first, the simply called e-tron. Then, the A1 e-tron, the e-tron Spyder, and finally the A3 e-tron. All complete failures, as they amounted to no successful production version car.
For the bluntly called e-tron SUV, hopes are higher than with all the others. After all, the model is launched at a time when customers all over the world are suckers for big cars, and the electric offensive from other carmakers is in full swing.
All in all, the e-tron has all the chances of being a hit, despite it not being a pure-breed EV but one mounted on a platform recycled from other ICE-powered models. And to show the world how much confidence Audi has in this new, improved e-tron, the carmaker has the following plan.
In 2019, one all new electric car with four-ringswill follow the SUV: the production version of the e-tron Sportback. Later, from 2020, classic body layouts like the Avant will also be electrified. Slowly, by 2025, all car shapes and sizes in the Audi lineup will have electric powertrain variants. In all, 12 models, built on four technical platforms.
As said, the e-tron SUV is built on an existing platform, one not meant for electric drive. A purpose-built such platform – Volkswagen’s MEB - will be presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show at the end of November.
The platform will be presented with the help of a new e-tron concept car called e-tron GT, probably the Audi-branded version of the Porsche Taycan.
Back in 2009, the brand first announced its electrification strategy and started rolling out e-trons: first, the simply called e-tron. Then, the A1 e-tron, the e-tron Spyder, and finally the A3 e-tron. All complete failures, as they amounted to no successful production version car.
For the bluntly called e-tron SUV, hopes are higher than with all the others. After all, the model is launched at a time when customers all over the world are suckers for big cars, and the electric offensive from other carmakers is in full swing.
All in all, the e-tron has all the chances of being a hit, despite it not being a pure-breed EV but one mounted on a platform recycled from other ICE-powered models. And to show the world how much confidence Audi has in this new, improved e-tron, the carmaker has the following plan.
In 2019, one all new electric car with four-ringswill follow the SUV: the production version of the e-tron Sportback. Later, from 2020, classic body layouts like the Avant will also be electrified. Slowly, by 2025, all car shapes and sizes in the Audi lineup will have electric powertrain variants. In all, 12 models, built on four technical platforms.
As said, the e-tron SUV is built on an existing platform, one not meant for electric drive. A purpose-built such platform – Volkswagen’s MEB - will be presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show at the end of November.
The platform will be presented with the help of a new e-tron concept car called e-tron GT, probably the Audi-branded version of the Porsche Taycan.
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