Electrification Plan Moving Forward
Volkswagen AG’s Audi luxury brand is the logical competitor to electric car leader Tesla. You wouldn’t know it by 2019 sales in the U.S., where the aging (introduced in 2015) Tesla Model X SUV sold 22,800 units compared with the brand-new Audi E-tron’s 5,369 units. Evidently, advertising before America’s biggest TV audience at the Super Bowl didn’t move the needle. Word from Europe shows sales stronger over there, but in the U.S. it looks like Audi has work to do to make a mark in the emerging electric vehicle market. The gang from Ingolstadt does have a plan.
In five years (2025) Audi will have 30 electrified models for sale globally, 20 of which will be fully electric. In the U.S. the company just unveiled more detail on its second fully electric model—the E-tron Sportback. The new model will have a maximum 277-mile range according to the generous WLTP cycle used in Europe (about 6 miles more than the E-tron), based in part on its 0.25 drag coefficient. It sacrifices little storage or rear seat headroom while offering a more coupe-like silhouette.
The powertrain in the Sportback starts with one of two different battery systems. The Sportback 55 will store 95 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in its batteries while the Sportback 50 version will feature a 71 kWh system. The power output from the 55 is 300 kilowatt’s (kW) at peak, compared to 230 kW for the 50.
The Sportback joins the E-tron and the Q5 TFSI e, A7 TFSI e and A8 TSFI e plug-in hybrids. Next up will be the Audi Q4 E-tron SUV and the E-tron GT sedan, which was previewed in concept last year.
Audi is using four different platforms for its all-electric vehicles. The E-tron and E-tron Sportback are based on the MLB evo, a modified version of the modular longitudinal platform that underpins many Audi SUVs.
The E-tron GT will be based on the J1 platform, which is shared with VW Group’s Porsche brand. When that car comes to the market, maybe later this year, it should go head-to-head with the performance version of Tesla’s Model S. The GT will have a combined 582 horsepower and 612 pound-feet of torque driving all four wheels. It’s also designed for high-level charging, capable of bringing the battery up to 80 percent in about 20 minutes at a 350-kilowatt DC charger.
Smaller, Faster Models
Audi and Volkswagen currently use the MQB platform for its entry-level models like the Audi A3 and Q3. For electric models its equivalent is the MEB platform (modular electric toolkit), which also is found beneath several of the VW EVs hitting the market. The Q4 E-tron will use this platform, though it may only be the first of several models.
Finally, Audi will utilize another platform shared with Porsche, designated PPE (Premium Platform Electric), which is rear-drive biased, but allows for the option of Audi’s signature Quattro all-wheel drive system. Audi said this platform could underpin SUVs, Sportbacks, Avants (wagons) and crossovers so a variety of fully electric, plug-in hybrid or electrified models could use it.
All this is part of Audi’s $13 billion global investment during the next four years to back these EVs. The company expects to sell approximately 800,000 electrified vehicles per year in 2025, part of the VW Group’s planned two to three million annual sales in this sector expected by that time. Several of those vehicles may be China-only models, where VW-Audi has a strong presence. Others may show up in the variety of brands the company has—Skoda, Seat, Porsche and Bentley—or one of its Chinese joint-venture partners.
The bottom line is more electrified Audis are coming to the U.S., and we see that as a good thing.
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