Flow-enhanced design with a drag coefficient of 0.25; powerful, all-electric e-tron quattro drive with up to 370 kW – Audi is presenting the Audi e-tron quattro concept at the International Motor Show (IAA) 2015 in Frankfurt. The car is the company’s statement about the future of electric mobility: It is responsive, efficient and suitable for everyday use.

“Audi will present an all-electric, luxury-class sport SUV in early 2018. The Audi e-tron quattro concept provides a concrete foretaste of this,” says Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Audi Board of Management for Technical Development. “It combines driving pleasure with great range, an expressive design and excellent comfort.”

Electric power

The Audi e-tron quattro concept uses the power of three electric motors: One electric motor drives the front axle, the two others act on the rear. Total output is 320 kW. The driver can even mobilise 370 kW and over 800 Nm (590.0 lb-ft) of torque temporarily while boosting. The concept study thus performs like a sports car. When the driver floors the throttle pedal, the Audi e-tronquattro concept sprints from a standstill to 62mph in 4.6 seconds and quickly reaches the electronically governed top speed of 130mph.

The concept with three electric motors which Audi is presenting for the first time makes the technology study an e-tron quattro. An intelligent drive management system controls the interplay between them as appropriate for the situation. The focus here is on the greatest possible efficiency. The driver decides on the degree of recuperation, the driving program S or D and the mode of Audi drive select .

During sporty driving on a winding road, the Torque Control Manager actively distributes the power between the rear wheels as necessary. This torque vectoring provides for maximum dynamics and stability.

The large lithium-ion battery is integrated into the floor of the passenger compartment. It gives the Audi e-tron quattro concept a balanced axle load distribution and a low centre of gravity – prerequisites for its dynamic handling. The battery’s capacity of 95 kWh enables a range of more than 310 miles (500 kilometres). The Combined Charging System (CCS) enables charging with DC or AC electrical current. A full charge with DC electrical current at a charging point with an output of 150 kW takes just around 50 minutes. As an alternative, the study is equipped with Audi Wireless Charging technology for contactless induction charging. The charging process is very convenient. The Audi e-tron quattro concept uses a system for piloted parking that guides it to the proper position at the charging plate. In addition, a large solar roof provides electricity for the drive system battery on sunny days.

The chassis also expresses the high-tech character of the concept study. The adaptive air suspension sport, which features controlled damping, lowers the body at higher speeds to reduce drag. The dynamic-all-wheel steering combines a dynamic steering system on the front axle with a steering system for the rear wheels. Depending on speed and the driving situation, they steer either in the same direction as the front wheels or in the opposite plane. The Audi e-tron quattroconcept thus reacts even more spontaneously and stably, and is also very manoeuvrable at low speeds.

Aerodynamic: The exterior design

The Audi e-tron quattro concept harmoniously combines its remarkably aerodynamic design with the all-electric drive system. The five-door technology study is 4.88 metres long, 1.93 metres wide and just 1.54 metres high. Its coupé-like silhouette with the extremely flat greenhouse that tapers strongly toward the rear lends it a very dynamic appearance. The car’s drag coefficient measures just 0.25 – a new best for the SUV segment, where figures are usually considerably over 0.30.

All of this contributes considerably to the long range of more than 310 miles(500 kilometres). At speeds of 50mph and above, electrically actuated aerodynamic elements on the bonnet, the flanks and at the rear end direct the flow of air as needed to improve the flow through and around the vehicle. This is one example of the intensive development work in the wind tunnel. Wind noise is low on board the car, and there is of course an absence of engine noise. The fascination of electric driving unfolds in near total silence.

The vertical separating edges on the side panels and the fully enclosed floor pan with its newly designed microstructures contribute to reducing drag. Cameras replace the exterior mirrors – another contribution to the excellent aerodynamics and also a foretaste of the future of driving.

All the main lighting functions at the front of the car use Matrix laser technology. The bottom section houses a new, distinctive lighting signature comprising five lighting elements. Each of these combines an LED luminary with an extremely flat OLED element (organic light-emitting diode). Audi is developing Matrix OLED technology for use in production vehicles and is showing it for the first time in the concept study at the IAA.

The rear lights also comprise two sections. Each of the top zones features nine red OLED units for the tail light function, with three more below.

Deep integration: The interior

The package of the Audi e-tron quattro concept enables a spacious, comfortable interior for four people and 615 litres of luggage space. The interior has a light and open feel to it; its architecture melds harmoniously with the operating and display concept. All displays in the interior use OLED technology. The extremely thin films can be cut to any desired shape.

The new Audi virtual cockpit curved OLED is a further development of the Audi virtual cockpit that debuted in production vehicles in 2014. To the left and right below the fully-digital instrument cluster are two touch displays with black glass and a subtle aluminium frame. The driver controls the lights and the systems for piloted driving with the left display. The large display on the right is for media and navigation management. The steering wheel serves as an alternate control level. Its spokes are equipped with contoured touch surfaces.

Below the selector lever on the centre tunnel console are two more OLED displays for the drive system status, climate control and freely programmable information functions. The curved displays in the front section of the doors serve as digital exterior mirrors.

The two rear passengers sit on comfortable individual seats. They can use the OLED displays on the centre console to configure the climate control and infotainment for their area or to exchange data with the driver. An LTE module connects the Audi e-tron quattro concept with the Internet. The connectivity features in the study are cutting edge.

The zFAS: Nerve centre for piloted driving

The concept study is equipped with all the technologies that Audi has developed for piloted driving: radar sensors, a video camera, ultrasonic sensors and a laser scanner. The data these supply come together in the central driver assistance controller (zFAS) in the luggage compartment. It computes a complete model of the car’s surroundings in real time and makes this information available to all assistance systems and the systems for piloted driving. These technologies are also nearly ready for use in production vehicles.

The move means Audi will likely be beat to punch by rival Mercedes

Audi is scrapping its plans to launch its E-Tron Quattro crossover in Brussels on Aug. 30 in favor of a yet-to-be-determined later date in the U.S. following the arrest last week of its CEO, Rupert Stadler.

Audi had planned to launch the E-Tron at an all-day Audi Summit in Brussels, where the electric crossover will be built. But the company on Monday cited "organizational issues" following the June 18 arrest and detention of Stadler on suspicion he was interfering in an investigation into the Dieselgate scandal, with Audi suspected as the source of the defeat software installed in Audi and Volkswagen diesel vehicles.

The postponement means that Mercedes-Benz may well beat Audi to the punch, having said earlier Monday that it plans to launch its EQ electric brand in Stockholm on Sept. 4, with its first vehicle the EQC, an SUV. Audi had been eager to stay ahead of rivals Mercedes and BMW in electrifying its fleet and has said it plans to sell 800,000 pure electric and hybrid vehicles by 2025.

An Audi spokeswoman tells Automotive News the E-Tron's European sales launch is unaffected by the announcement and will still happen by the end of the year. Audi has already taken thousands of reservations from across Europe for the electriccrossover, which starts at €80,000.

The E-Tron boasts a 95-kWh battery pack powering a 320-kilowatt/429-horsepower electric drive system with three electric motors — one at the front and two at the rear — for an all-wheel-drive system Audi calls "electric Quattro." It's rated on the WLTP test protocol as having a 248.5-mile range, but it hasn't yet been rated by the EPA in the United States.

Audi plans three other EV releases: the E-Tron Sportback, an E-Tron GT sedan and a compact car in 2020.

Last month, Audi confirmed that it is delaying the launch of its e-tron quattro electric SUV amidst arrest of its CEO over the Dieselgate scandal.

Now the German automaker confirms that it will unveil the vehicle on September 17 and it will start taking reservations in the US.

The vehicle, which they referred to as “the first all-electric Audi e-tron”, will make its global debut in San Francisco on Sept. 17.

It will be the first time that they will reveal full e-tron specifications and pricing.

The automaker is also implementing a reservation process with $1,000 deposits.

Scott Keogh, president of Audi of America, commented on the reservation process in a press release:

Audi says that a reservation will come with “a digital ecosystem” that will enable reservation holders to follow the entire process to get their car made online.

They said:

Audi also confirmed today that the e-tron will not make it to the US in 2018. It is “expected to be delivered to showrooms in the first part of 2019.”

Based on some information that leaked in other markets, we know that the all-electric SUV is equipped with a 95 kWh battery pack, 2 electric motors for a total output of 320 kW and it is capable of DC fast-charging up to 150 kW.

In recent months, Audi unveiled the latest e-tron quattro prototype, confirmed a ‘starting price of €80,000’ (with VAT) in Germany, and a more ‘realistic’ range of ~250 miles after updating the figure from the NEDC standard.

It has also showcased the vehicle’s towing capability by pulling a trailer with their new electric race car in it and revealed the aero performance of the SUV with optional cameras instead of mirrors.

Now we should have all the information details about the production version within just a few weeks.

A 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds, a top speed of 124 mph, maximum drive torque achieved in a quarter of a second. This is the 2019 Audi e-tron, Audi’s first all-electric offering.

The e-tron is the first of three all-electric models Audi’s aiming to launch by 2020, and one of them is likely to be similar to the e-tron GT shown back in March.

And it comes at a key moment for the still fledgling EV industry. Mercedes, Jaguar, Chevrolet, Audi’s cousins at Porsche and more are all upping their electric game big time. And Tesla, which spurred the industry in part to consider the potential sales power of battery-powered cars, has struggled mightily as of late, and now a bevy of automakers and startups are rushing to get vehicles of their own into the public’s hands.

The e-tron SUV is another cast member to the growing field of luxury electric vehicles, especially crossovers. Audi’s framed it as a versatile ride—for sport, family, and leisure. The e-tron can pack in five bodies and has 28.5 cubic feet of space in the trunk; 57 cu. ft. with the seats down.

It’ll have some decent punch, too—a gallop to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 124 miles. Audi didn’t shed light on power stats, saying the figures will become available closer to launch, but the e-tron’s two asynchronous motor setup is supposed to achieve maximum torque in just 250 milliseconds, which is no surprise for an EV, but is still pretty damn fast.Audi also tried to solved the charging riddle, a key infrastructure question for automakers trying to wiggle their way into the EV space. The e-tron is engineered for both AC and DC charging, and has a DC fast charging capability of up to 150 kW, which can deliver an 80 percent charge in just 30 minutes.

Audi didn’t disclose U.S. range estimates, but said earlier it could achieve about 250 miles based on the new WLTP European standards.

To that end, Audi tried to allay any concerns drivers may have about long-distance drives in the e-tron. The SUV will be supported by the Dieselgate-funded Electrify America charging network. That’s the Volkswagen-created network of fast-charging sites, and if all goes according to plan, it’ll have nearly 500 fast-charging sites in place throughout 40 states and 17 metro areas by July 2019. Audi e-tron customers will receive a complimentary 1,000 kWh of charging at Electrify America sites with the purchase of the SUV.

Audi didn’t want to go crazy with the e-tron’s design, and it’s completely obvious what it is upon first glance. It looks like an Audi. The e-tron has an enclosed platinum gray grille that’s intended to mimic Audi’s AUVs, and Audi pointed out its continuous shoulder line that extends from the headlights to the rear.

The e-tron is being offered with three trims—Premium Plus, Prestige, and First Edition. Premium Plus is a funny way of saying “base” model, and it starts at $74,800, with 20" all-season tires, panoramic sunroof, 12 way power front seats that can be heated or cooled, and Audi side-assist with cross-traffic alert technology.

For $7,000 more, Audi’s offering the Prestige trim, which tacks on a Heads-Up Display, driver assistance tech package, and individual contour seats with a massage function.

To mark the occasion, Audi’s also releasing a limited First Edition trim, with 999 units being offered in the U.S. market. At $86,700, that’ll include a Daytona Gray color exterior, 21-inch bi-color black wheels, orange brake calipers to match the headlights and highlights surrounding the nameplate located near the charge port. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019.

Overall, it’s easily one of the most “normal”-looking EVs to date, eschewing the spaceship looks of the Model X or even the Jaguar I-Pace. But it’s nice, it’s premium and should be an interesting competitor in this growing space.

SAN FRANCISCO—Luxury electric SUVs must be like buses: you wait ages for one and then three show up all at once. That's certainly how it feels right now—first it was the Mercedes-Benz EQC, then last week BMW showed us the iNext, and on Monday night it was the Audi e-tron. This one is going to reach showrooms first—production just started at a carbon-neutral plant in Belgium in the past few weeks, and US deliveries are scheduled to begin in mid-2019.

That's sufficiently far off that Audi is still in the process of homologating the US version for sale, so some of its vital statistics are still TBA. We can't tell you how exactly much power you get for $74,800, although the European version is 300kW (402hp), if that helps. It hasn't undergone EPA testing yet, so there's no official word of how many miles of range the 95kWh lithium-ion battery provides. (Again, if it's helpful, the e-tron earned a 400km range on the very different European WLTP test.)

And I'm sad to say the e-tron's coolest feature—those side-view cameras—will require some changes to federal vehicle regulations before we can get them here in the US. That goes for the matrix-beam headlights, too. That's a shame, because this is an electric Audi that was designed with the US in mind. The company expects us to be the biggest market for the e-tron, and it's pitching this one straight into the mainstream. There are no flashy falcon wing doors or a massive panoramic screen like those in the bigger Tesla Model X. Neither are there futuristic design or racetrack credentials as with the Jaguar I-Pace.Instead, it's a conventional design and one that's unmistakably an Audi first and foremost. The e-tron doesn't shout about its electric credentials but slots neatly alongside the conventionally powered Q7 and Q8 SUVs that make up Audi's other offerings in the C segment luxury SUV market. Despite the buff looks, it's rather aerodynamic for its size—the drag coefficient is 0.27 with the virtual mirrors, 0.28 with normal ones. If you drove one past the average person on the street, other than a lack of noise, I doubt they'd think there wasn't an internal combustion engine under the hood.

That makes perfect sense when you realize that the e-tron is built on a modified version of its MLB Evo architecture. Things like suspension mounting points, the climate-control system, the vehicle's electronic network, and the suite of driver assists and infotainment are common to the Q7 and Q8. They're also common to Audi's sedans and the other Volkswagen group vehicles that use that architecture.

But everything between the axles is all new. There's a pair of electric motors, either side of the 95kWh lithium-ion battery pack. There was much talk of powertrain cooling, since keeping batteries and motors in the right temperature range is key to getting the most from EV performance. Each motor features a "cooling lance" running through it, and excess heat from the electronics is recycled for use in the climate-control system, which should be a big help to range in the winter.

The battery is liquid-cooled, via a cooling system below the cells—Audi says this is so any fluids drain down and not into contact with the cells in the event of a crash. In the e-tron, these are pouch cells (probably from LG Chem). The pack has been designed to accept prismatic cells as well, which gives Audi some freedom when it comes to cell suppliers for future EVs that share this current architecture. (The next model in line is the e-tron Sportback, then the e-tron GT in 2021.) Audi says the e-tron's regenerative braking is best in class, and together with the aforementioned heat pump, the car maker seems to be taking real-world range issues seriously.

Much about the e-tron has been designed for it to integrate into owners' lives as effortlessly as possible. Audi has partnered with Amazon to make the installation of the home charging kit as simple and trustworthy as possible. As penance for the diesel emissions scandal, parent VW Group is building out a country-wide network of 500 DC fast-charging stations that will feed the e-tron's battery at 150kW, taking it from empty to eighty (percent) in about 30 minutes. It's not quite the same as Tesla's Supercharger network, but you've got to start somewhere.

The e-tron isn't particularly cheap, starting at $74,800. But if you include the $7,500 federal tax credit, the vehicle starts getting competitive with the other big five-seat Audi SUV, the Q8. The batteries and motors come with double the normal warranty—in this case, 100,000 miles or eight years. And standard equipment in the base Premium Plus models is relatively generous for an automaker like Audi; spending the extra $6,000 on the Prestige trim mainly gets you fancier front seats clad in fancier leather, as well as adaptive cruise control and driver assists.

The immediate response to e-tron on Monday night was mixed. Neither the drones nor the light show did much to pump up cynical (or jet-lagged) journalists, but dealers that I spoke to seemed excited about adding an electric SUV into the mix. My take is that the e-tron is sufficiently different from the other luxury electric SUVs on the market that it ought to appeal to a different type of customer, one who might otherwise have stuck with a conventionally powered SUV. At least I hope so, if the goal is getting more of us away from internal combustion.

The upcoming Audi e-tron GT will be the first all-electric Audi to support 350 kW charging, resulting in truly phenomenal recharge times.

The new model, set to arrive in 2020, will be able to charge to 80 per cent capacity in less than 12 minutes when hooked up to a 350 kW fast charger. That’s a significant reduction from the 30 minutes needed by the new e-tron SUV to charge to 80 per cent from the company’s existing 150 kW chargers.

During an interview with Autocar, senior E-tron product marketing manager Johannes Eckstein said that battery technology is not yet advanced enough to accommodate the electricity flow rate provided by 350 kW chargers. However, the batteries of the e-tron GT will offer support.

To ensure that owners of its future electric models can make use of 350 kW charging as soon as their vehicles arrive, Audi is already hard at work constructing fast-charging stations around the world with 350 kW support. In Europe, these stations are coming to life through the Ionity network, which is a collaboration between the likes of Audi, BMW, Ford, Mercedes, and others. In the United States, the VW Group’s Electify America subsidiary is also rolling out these stations.

Alongside its support for fast-charging, we know that the e-tron GT will be a luxury sedan designed to rival the Tesla Model S and act as an alternative to the Porsche Taycan. The vehicle will be manufactured at the automaker’s Böllinger Höfe site near Neckarsulm in early 2020.

Besides the e-tron GT and e-tron SUV, Audi will launch an additional 10 electric vehicles by 2025.

The Audi e-tron is a good electric luxury SUV, but it has a slightly less satisfying range than some Tesla offerings, especially when you take into account the luxury-vehicle price point. Apparently Audi has realized this, since it has just reduced the price of the 2021 e-tron by $8800, to $66,995. It’s also increased the range of the vehicle by 18 miles.

The range increase may not be as huge as some would like, but it does show that the German automaker is making adjustments to how to doles out power from its battery pack. To achieve the extra mileage, the Audi increased the usable portion of the 95.0-kWh battery pack found in the e-tron by nearly 3.0 kWh to 86.5 kWh. The amount not available for daily usage is a buffer for the battery to use when some of the usable cells eventually die. Audi also announced dual charging ports, one on each side of the vehicle, for the Premium Plus trims of the e-tron and e-tron Sportback.

The range boost was already being talked about back in December, and anyone in the market for an e-tron will likely be glad they waited.