Audi e-tron Sportback to be brand’s second EV
As the next step in its plan to integrate more electrification into its now diesel-devoid lineup, Audi is doubling up on battery-powered SUVs. Audi has announced that the e-tron Sportback concept, which debuted at this year’s Shanghai auto show, will go into production in 2019. It will follow the just-plain e-tron, a larger electric crossover due in 2018.
The term e-tron has been messily thrown around at Audi and has appeared on a wide variety of vehicle types. The first time the e-tron moniker was applied to a vehicle was the R8 e-tron concept back in 2009. The idea of the all-electric supercar was bandied about for years before finally entering production for the 2016 model year only to be canceled almost immediately. During that time span, Audi introduced two plugin-hybrid vehicles: the A3 e-tron and the Q7 e-tron, both of which are still on sale in Europe. The A3 Sportback e-tron is available in the U.S.; the Q7 e-tron is not.
The first time e-tron stood alone as its own model name was in 2015 at the Frankfurt auto show, where Audi introduced the e-tron Quattro concept. This all-electric SUV was the precursor to the model headed for production next year.
Just to keep things confusing, Audi also has g-tron, h-tron, and e-gas vehicles, but those have different powertrains, so we won’t go into any of that here.
Meanwhile, the e-tron Sportback concept uses a 429-hp electric drivetrain with two motors in the rear and one up front, along with a 95-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Audi claims it could provide up to 310 miles of range on a single charge, with an option for a 30-minute quick charge that would replenish more than 200 miles of range. Those, however, are numbers for the concept, and there’s no confirmation or further details about the powertrain that will be put into production.
If you followed all of that, get yourself an e-drink. You deserve it.