Audi e-tron (2018)
The Audi e-tron is a fully-electric mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Audi, which was unveiled as a concept car at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the company's first electric mass production car, and was first delivered in May 2019. It has an EPA range of.
A Sportback variant entered production in early 2020.
History
The Audi e-tron is based on the e-tron quattro concept that was unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. The final production version was revealed in San Francisco on 17 September 2018, and it publicly debuted at the 2018 Paris Motor Show.The car's certification in Germany by the KBA was not obtained until required changes were made to the car's software. In January 2019, United States market deliveries were due to commence in June.
The first customer in Germany received his e-tron in March 2019, in late April 2019 it was reported that prospective customers faced waiting lists of 6–7 months. The delays caused controversy in Norway, where customers were informed that their cars would be delivered up to 6 months later than originally promised unless they paid extra for a significantly more expensive "Fast Track" car. Further to this, some customers were also informed that were they to cancel their reservation they would be liable for a fine equal to 8% of the purchase price.
Both in Germany and in the United States, hundreds of e-trons were registered before the first publicized delivery to a customer in the respective area occurred, which suggests they performed the role of test vehicles of some sort. In June 2019 Audi of America claimed there are 1,644 e-trons in the United States and 540 of these are in the hands of customers.
During the first three quarters of 2019, there were 3,540 registrations of the e-tron in the United States, 3,824 in Norway, 2,997 in Germany, and 706 in the Netherlands.
In Norway, the e-tron was the best-selling car or truck of any kind in October 2019. In November 2019, it ranked #3.
In the Netherlands, the e-tron was the #2 most registered car of any kind in December 2019.
Audi paused production of the e-tron in February 2020 due to supply chain problems including issues with adequate supply of batteries for the e-tron.
Specifications
The Audi e-tron is powered by a 95 kWh battery pack of which 83.6 kWh is usable. It is able to get an 80% charge in around 30 minutes when using 150 kW DC fast-chargers. For at-home charging in the EU, there is a standard 11 kW charger which charges it in 8.5 hours, while an optional 22 kW charger halves this time. In the US, a 40A 9.6kW J1772 charger is used instead. A liquid cooling system keeps the battery between 23-35 degrees Celsius, and battery modules can be replaced.The quattro electric all-wheel drive uses two electric motors, one mounted to the front and one at the rear. In "boost mode," the two motors provide a total system output of and of torque enabling the car to accelerate from in 5.7 seconds. When not in boost mode, the combined peak motor power is, with from the front motor at a torque of and from the rear motor at a torque of
. This allows the car to accelerate from 0–100 km/h in 6.6 seconds and on to its top speed of.
The car uses an energy recuperation system which, on average, contributes 30% to the range. Recuperation can be achieved both when the driver releases the accelerator and when applying pressure to the brake.
When the car is equipped with the virtual side mirrors the car has a drag coefficient of 0.27. The e-tron also sits slightly lower than a traditional SUV; at high, it is lower than the Audi Q5. It has of boot space, more than the Mercedes-Benz EQC, along with of storage space in the front.
Cold-weather performance
In temperatures ranging from, with cabin heating on, the e-tron achieved a real-world range of, compared to in the summer, which means a 10.5% range drop. The tests were done at the speed of.The real range drop might by slightly higher because in the aforementioned tests the "winter" car had the advantage of more aerodynamic wheels than the "summer" car.
This stands well in comparison to other EVs; five other electric vehicles, including the 2017 Tesla Model S 75D, were tested at the temperature of with cabin heating on, and all of them had a range drop of at least 30%, and 41% on average.
The e-tron is, in summer driving and without reaching European highway speeds, less efficient than the Tesla Model X in terms of distance covered per kWh of energy. However, as the e-tron is less affected by low temperatures, driving in the winter brings the results of these two vehicles closer. In a test done at temperatures in the range and including high-speed highway driving, the e-tron's efficiency was about 12.4% worse than in the Model X. In slightly below-freezing conditions, the difference was even smaller and the e-tron's efficiency was about 8.6% worse than in the Model X.
Charging
The e-tron can be charged at an effective rate of 150 kW using a 175 kW charger. This is possible in a wide state-of-charge window, until the battery is about 80% charged. With such a charger, adding of range takes only 10 minutes. Audi of America is more cautious with their estimates, saying that of range can be added in 10 minutes when using a 150 kW charger.At 90%, charging rate is about 82 kW and it remains above 50 kW until reaching 100%.
Using a 50 kW charger, the car can be charged at a constant rate of 50 kW, up until reaching 100%.
Equipment
Standard equipment for the e-tron includes 12-way heated and ventilated front seats, a panoramic moonroof, and 20-inch wheels. Upgrades include massage seats, power door closers, leather upholstery, 21-inch wheels and orange brake calipers. The interior is in line with other Audi models with a 10.1-inch infotainment screen, a smaller 8.6-inch touchscreen display, Amazon Alexa voice control, Virtual Cockpit system, and an optional head up display. Other equipments include a Bang & Olufsen sound system, and an available Driver Assistance package with enhanced adaptive cruise control, automatic parking assist and night vision. The e-tron is the second production car to offer optional virtual side mirrors, which replaces the traditional side-view mirrors and instead use cameras transmitting images to a high-contrast 7-inch OLED embedded in the door panels.Sportback version
In addition to the conventional SUV body style, Audi released a 'Sportback' version with a sloping rear part of the roof, similar to the BMW X6 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe. Audi decided to compete with these ICE-powered rivals by offering only a pure electric vehicle.Comparisons to the styling of Audi's own A7 have also been made.
The production version debuted at AutoMobility LA in Los Angeles in November 2019. The length and width are the same as in the standard model, while the height is lower. A drag coefficient lower that in the standard model allows for longer highway range, as the powertrain and battery are the same as in the original model.
Cargo space measured by European standards is reduced from to. American sources, however, measure cargo space in a different way and indicate that the original e-tron has as much as of cargo space, so the reduction to is substantial.
It entered production in early 2020 and will be available in Europe in the spring of 2020.
Models
Marketing
The e-tron made an appearance in an Audi commercial tied to ', where it was introduced to Captain Marvel who was briefed about the events of ' and the things that had changed on Earth while she was gone, although it never made an appearance in the movie itself. Later, the e-Tron appeared in where it was used by characters played by Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders.The name e-Tron is very similar to the French word , causing some ridicule of the e-Tron in France and by Tesla-CEO Elon Musk.
Production issues and recall
Reports surfaced in April 2019 that the e-tron was subject to production delays and a cut in production targets due to supply of batteries and electric motors. Subsequently, weekly production hours at the assembly plant were foreseen to be reduced from 30 to 24.Audi announced a recall of certain e-tron models in early June 2019. The recall relates to a water leak that could lead to the high voltage electronics shorting, potentially causing a fire in extreme cases.