Photo: Audi
Just like other brands, Audi uses a distinctive name for its electric vehicles, at least for now. The same applies to its German rivals, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, who have elected to use Mercedes-EQ and BMW i for theirs. The only question that remains is what will happen to these names once the range becomes EV only. Well, according to Audi, the e-tron name is set to stay even past that moment.
The question regarding keeping the e-tron name, as well as the possibility of its equivalents in different ranges, grows more important with every year that passes until we reach the moment when many automakers announced that they will stop launching new vehicles in Europe that are not EVs. The idea is that many manufacturers will find themselves in a situation where the EV badge will become redundant, as all their vehicles will be EVs, at least in Europe.
The redundancy issue is set to happen to the e-tron name, as eventually there will be no models in the range that are not e-tron vehicles. The same is expected to happen with BMW i and with Mercedes-EQ, which is an entire sub-brand dedicated to electric vehicles, but its EVs will return under the core Mercedes-Benz brand once the EQ designation becomes redundant. Representatives of the three-pointed star brand have confirmed this direction in one form or another.
Since Audi has ambitious plans with its EVs in the following years, it was only normal to ask its representatives the same thing, and the Brits at Top Gear have gone ahead and done that in an interview. Contrary to what you might have expected initially, Audi's design chief, Marc Lichte, explained that e-tron is here to stay and that the name will not be gone once the range goes all-EV.
According to Lichte, the e-tron designation is here to stay, as it is a "very clear differentiation," and he also noted that there "will be one differentiation more." The latter seems like a mention of the possibility of announcing yet another range of EVs from Audi, but the chief designer for the Ingolstadt brand said it is too early to talk about it yet.
Fortunately for everyone, according to Marc Lichte, there is something to look forward to at the end of this year, and it is not just Christmas. Instead, we will see "there is even more detail which differentiates combustion engines and EVs."
We have no clue as to what that might be except for the obvious, but this year might bring the unveiling of the upcoming RS6 e-tron, which is set to be available in both EV and ICE-based forms. The latter is believed to become a plug-in hybrid.
As for a new designation for EVs within the Audi range, we are all out of guesses here, and our crystal ball is malfunctioning again. We can only hope to get a bit more information on the latter with the kind help of unnamed company insiders, as we usually do.
What Marc Lichte might be saying in his interview with the Brits is that the German brand's EVs might be significantly quicker than its corresponding ICE models, but this is just an assumption given the current description made by the brand's design chief. It may be something entirely different, though, and it may be an extra differentiation for the performance-oriented EVs in the range, if you were looking for our best guess.
The redundancy issue is set to happen to the e-tron name, as eventually there will be no models in the range that are not e-tron vehicles. The same is expected to happen with BMW i and with Mercedes-EQ, which is an entire sub-brand dedicated to electric vehicles, but its EVs will return under the core Mercedes-Benz brand once the EQ designation becomes redundant. Representatives of the three-pointed star brand have confirmed this direction in one form or another.
Since Audi has ambitious plans with its EVs in the following years, it was only normal to ask its representatives the same thing, and the Brits at Top Gear have gone ahead and done that in an interview. Contrary to what you might have expected initially, Audi's design chief, Marc Lichte, explained that e-tron is here to stay and that the name will not be gone once the range goes all-EV.
According to Lichte, the e-tron designation is here to stay, as it is a "very clear differentiation," and he also noted that there "will be one differentiation more." The latter seems like a mention of the possibility of announcing yet another range of EVs from Audi, but the chief designer for the Ingolstadt brand said it is too early to talk about it yet.
Fortunately for everyone, according to Marc Lichte, there is something to look forward to at the end of this year, and it is not just Christmas. Instead, we will see "there is even more detail which differentiates combustion engines and EVs."
We have no clue as to what that might be except for the obvious, but this year might bring the unveiling of the upcoming RS6 e-tron, which is set to be available in both EV and ICE-based forms. The latter is believed to become a plug-in hybrid.
As for a new designation for EVs within the Audi range, we are all out of guesses here, and our crystal ball is malfunctioning again. We can only hope to get a bit more information on the latter with the kind help of unnamed company insiders, as we usually do.
What Marc Lichte might be saying in his interview with the Brits is that the German brand's EVs might be significantly quicker than its corresponding ICE models, but this is just an assumption given the current description made by the brand's design chief. It may be something entirely different, though, and it may be an extra differentiation for the performance-oriented EVs in the range, if you were looking for our best guess.
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