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Added on the 07/05/2021 08:28:29 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
Roughly a year since the first series production Audi with electric drive made its debut at the same location: The Audi e-tron was still covered in camouflage wrapping foil at that point. The brand with the four rings is now giving an advance look at a further automobile with an all-electric drive at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show: The Audi Q4 e-tron concept is a compact four-door SUV with an exterior length of 4.59 meters whose relation to the Audi e-tron is apparent at first glance.Two electric motors mobilize 225 kW of system power in the Q4 e-tron concept. As is typical for Audi, the driving power of the concept vehicle is brought to the road with quattro all-wheel drive. Thanks to excellent traction, it accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in just 6.3 seconds. It reaches its maximum speed at an electronically limited 180 km/h. A large battery with a capacity of 82 kilowatt hours takes up almost the entire space in the underbody area between the axles. The range of over 450 kilometers - in line with the WLTP standard - sets the benchmark in its class. The technology of the Q4 e-tron concept controls the modular electrification platform (MEB) that will be integrated in numerous electric vehicles produced by the Volkswagen Group in the future, from the compact class to the superior medium-size class.The Audi Q4 e-tron concept gives an advance look at what will already be the fifth series production electric vehicle that the manufacturer will introduce by the end of 2020. Sales of the Audi e-tron have already started, and the first vehicles will be delivered to the customers before the end of March 2019. Later in 2019, the Audi e-tron Sportback will be presented, and the Audi Q2L e-tron, which was designed specifically for the Chinese market, will roll off the assembly line. The presentation of the production version of the four-door high-performance coupé Audi e-tron GT, which is being developed at Audi Sport GmbH, is planned for the second half of 2020. The compact Audi Q4 e-tron is to make its production debut at the same time. With this offer, Audi now covers all important market segments with all-electric drive vehicles, from the A segment to the full-size class, just under two years after the launch of the first electric car.
Audi is relying on synergy effects for the smaller models on the basis of the MEB platform (modular electrification platform): The production model of Audi Q4 e-tron concept, an electric SUV in the A segment, will roll off the assembly line at the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, together with models from the VW and SEAT brands. Bundling the platforms in production this way enables the future large-volume electric models to be produced in large quantities and with great efficiency. The most important parts of the MEB models are made in the Group’s component plants, mainly in Kassel (drive modules), Salzgitter (electric motor parts) and Brunswick (batteries and suspension parts).
The brand with the four rings entered the electric era with the start of production of the Audi e-tron in the Brussels plant. The tradition-steeped production site was first extensively modernized and is now one of the most modern production sites for electric models in Europe. The electric drives are supplied by Audi’s own engine production plant in Győr, and the Brussels location has set up its own battery manufacturing facility. Many experiences from the production of the e-tron in Brussels are now being incorporated in the new BEV projects and the establishment of further production sites for electric vehicles.For the production of future electric models, Audi is relying on a high level of flexibility and valuable synergies within the Group: For example, the PPE platform (Premium Platform Electric) for the large electric cars was developed in cooperation with Porsche. The aim is to produce the PPE models at existing locations. The vehicle concept is based on the standardized plant structures and can be transferred to other factories quickly.Audi is also relying on synergy effects for the smaller models on the basis of the MEB platform (modular electrification platform): The production model of Audi Q4 e-tron concept, an electric SUV in the A segment, will roll off the assembly line at the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, together with models from the VW and SEAT brands. Bundling the platforms in production this way enables the future large-volume electric models to be produced in large quantities and with great efficiency. The most important parts of the MEB models are made in the Group’s component plants, mainly in Kassel (drive modules), Salzgitter (electric motor parts) and Brunswick (batteries and suspension parts).Preparations for the production model of Audi e-tron GT concept, which will roll off the assembly line in the Böllinger Höfe near Neckarsulm together with the Audi R8 as of the end of 2020, are also already underway. While the high-performance sports car with a combustion engine is still made predominantly by hand, the electric Gran Turismo is to be manufactured with a higher degree of automation in the body shop. Both models pass through the same assembly, which is currently being expanded by 20 cycles to 36 cycles, as well as an overhead conveyor. Specific electric elements of the vehicle, such as the battery system, the drive or the thermal management, are prepared in special pre-assemblies and installed on the assembly line as a finished module.The plug-in hybrids are produced in the same locations as their respective product lines: For example the Audi Q5 TFSI e in San José Chiapa (Mexico) and the Audi A7 TFSI e in Neckarsulm. Audi is currently making two electrified models in local production in China: the A6 L e-tron and the Q2 L e-tron; the Audi e-tron will follow as of 2020.
The new era of technology on which Audi has embarked can also be experienced in the interior of the Q4 e-tron and the Q4 Sportback e-tron. The instrument panel introduces itself with progressive elegance and underlines the airy feeling of spaciousness. The cockpit features a distinctly three-dimensional design, and its geometric volumes are interrelated in an electrifying way.In both the electric SUVs, the operating and display units take on the function of design elements more than ever. The digital instrument for the driver is embedded like a diamond between two volumes – a short one on the left-hand side, which incorporates an air vent, and a long one on the right-hand side. It extends all the way to the front passenger door and integrates further air vents. The central MMI touch display, which appears clean and light, occupies the space in front of it. It is tilted toward the driver and is positioned within ergonomically easy reach.A lean inlay, known as the tech layer, lies above the display and connects it with the instrument panel. The choice of surface materials for this panel includes open-pore lime wood, aluminum in two different designs, and plastic. The inlay in the S line interior will also be available as an alternative shortly after market launch with an innovative, anthracite-colored technical fabric that is made partly of recycled materials.
Audi is pressing forward consistently with its electrification offensive: at a world premiere with celebrity participants, the Four Rings company presented the Audi Q4 e-tron and the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron. These all-electric models represent the brand’s entry into premium e-mobility in the compact segment. At the second digital Celebration of Progress, in the company of Audi experts and international guests, the Four Rings demonstrated the highlights of the SUV/CUV: typical e-tron design, cutting-edge display technologies and impressive spaciousness.
The new era of technology on which Audi has embarked can also be experienced in the interior of the Q4 e-tron and the Q4 Sportback e-tron. The instrument panel introduces itself with progressive elegance and underlines the airy feeling of spaciousness. The cockpit features a distinctly three-dimensional design, and its geometric volumes are interrelated in an electrifying way.In both the electric SUVs, the operating and display units take on the function of design elements more than ever. The digital instrument for the driver is embedded like a diamond between two volumes – a short one on the left-hand side, which incorporates an air vent, and a long one on the right-hand side. It extends all the way to the front passenger door and integrates further air vents. The central MMI touch display, which appears clean and light, occupies the space in front of it. It is tilted toward the driver and is positioned within ergonomically easy reach.A lean inlay, known as the tech layer, lies above the display and connects it with the instrument panel. The choice of surface materials for this panel includes open-pore lime wood, aluminum in two different designs, and plastic. The inlay in the S line interior will also be available as an alternative shortly after market launch with an innovative, anthracite-colored technical fabric that is made partly of recycled materials.
The Q6 e-tron series, built in Ingolstadt, is the first fully electric high-volume model manufactured at a German Audi site. Simultaneously, the brand with the four rings is consolidating new skills and technologies at its company headquarters with the assembly of the newly developed high-voltage (HV) battery for the Premium Platform Electric (PPE). Thanks to the new battery assembly, Audi is gradually increasing the vertical range of manufacture for fully electric models and gathering experience for battery module production further down the line.
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