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AUDI has confirmed that an SUV about the size of a BMW X5 and the shape of a Range Rover Evoque will be the first full EV it markets in Australia.

Expected to be badged Q6 e-tron, the dedicated EV is set to be unveiled in 2018 ahead of a 2019 local launch, when it will take on the new Tesla Model X. The timing would likely beat rivals from Mercedes and BMW to market.

Audi’s long-term electrification strategy kicked into gear in 2015 with the A3 e-tron petrol-electric hybrid. Next will come the Q7 e-tron hybrid in early 2017.

Audi Australia GM Andrew Doyle said the Q6 e-tron will be the ideal springboard for full EVS here because of Australia’s growing love affair with high-riding luxury SUVS.

“The great thing about Audi’s electrification strategy is that the first fully electric [model] will be an SUV, and that’s great for our marketplace especially,” he said. “Going forward we will roll out more (e-tron) models.”

The A3 e-tron has laid the foundations for the electric SUV, he said, with Audi gaining first-hand experience about the expectations, usage and infrastructure.

Doyle added the Q6 will have “extraordinary range”. The ‘e-tron Quattro concept’ from the 2015 Frankfurt motor show – the best indicator of what the Q6 will be like – promised a 500km-plus range between charges, from a trio of electric motors and a low-mounted battery pack.pack With outputs of about 400kw and 800Nm, the 4.9m-long concept is said to accelerate from 0-100km/h in about 4.6sec.

A two-metre roof-mounted solar panel will help capture energy in the production version, while painstaking airflow management should further help maximise range. Like the Model X, the Cd figure is very low at 0.25.

To help amortise development costs, the Q6 will be built on Audi’s MLB Evo architecture that underpins the next-gen Q5, as well as the latest Q7, A4 and A5.

An Ingolstadt insider says the Q6 will be priced about the same as a highly specified A6, so expect it to cost $150,000 to $200,000.

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