Tag Archives: Audi e-tron

Audi’s Identity Issue

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By Gary S. Vasilash

2018 saw the launch of the Audi e-tron, the German’s first production EV. Even then knowing where the interest was developing (things like the Tesla Model S notwithstanding), the folks in Ingolstadt determined that an SUV was the body style to launch.

Since then, Audi has sold about 150,000 of the vehicles.

Audi Q8 e-tron. (Image: Audi)

Maybe they figured that what the heck an “e-tron” was was something that kept it from gaining significantly more traction in the market.

So for the new model the name has been changed to “Q8 e-tron.”

The company had some equity in the Q8 name for its SUV. So it has appended it to the electric variants (there is also the Q8 Sportback e-tron).

Audi puts it: “By renaming this model the Q8, Audi is making a clear statement that the Audi Q8 e-tron is the flagship model among its electric SUVs and Coupe SUVs.”

Perhaps that will resolve what is arguably an identity crisis in the market.

However, the company goes on to maintain, “The Audi Q8 e-tron and Q8 Sportback e-tron are immediately identifiable as fully electric models, marked out by the new front and rear designs that carry Audi’s electric design language forward.”

There it may be a bit misled. The whole “immediately identifiable as fully electric models” is more than a slight exaggeration.

It was probably that sort of thinking that led Audi marketers to think back in 2018 that prospective customers would immediately know that the e-tron was an electric Q8 by another name.

Seems that that didn’t work out particularly well sales-wise.

Audi TT RS on Its Way Out in U.S.

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But if you act quickly, you might get one of 50 special editions

By Gary S. Vasilash

In the first three quarters of this year Audi has sold 825 TT models. Which in the context of, say, the Audi R8 is good (496 through the first three quarters) but as all other Audi models (with the exception of the e-tron GT, which had sales of 462, but know that it didn’t go on sale in the U.S. until July, so that number is completely understandable) are in at least the four figures, the 825 isn’t all that robust.

Model year 22 is the last for the Audi TT RS in the U.S. market, so Audi of America is offering a limited edition—the Audi TT RS Heritage Edition—of which 50 will be on offer.

There will be 50 TT RS models available, 10 each in those five colors. (Image: Audi of America)

They are emphasizing the five-cylinder engine in the vehicle, although in a way that might not be apparent to anyone other than someone buying one, as they have a selection of five color combinations–Alpine White with Ocean Blue leather and Diamond Silver stitch; Helios Blue metallic Diamond Silver leather and Ocean Blue stitch; Stone Gray metallic with Crimson Red leather and Jet Gray stitch; Tizian Red metallic with Havanna Brown leather and Jet Gray stitch; Malachite Green metallic with Cognac Brown leather and Black stitch—and they are producing 10 each.

Two numbers of interest related to the TT RS Heritage Edition:

  1. It has a 174 mph top speed limiter
  2. The MSRP is $81,450

This doesn’t mean the end of the TT in the U.S. The TT and TTS models will continue to be available.

Audi’s Approach to Electric Vehicles

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The Audi RS e-tron GT produces 590 hp, net. Just sayin’. . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

There are 14 vehicles in the Audi of America lineup. The best-selling model during Q1 was the Q5 crossover, with 14,731 units delivered. The vehicle that had the least amount of sales is the R8 sports car, at 148 units. This gives you a sense of the spread from top to bottom, as Audi sold 54,840 vehicles.

What is surprising is how well the e-tron and e-tron Sportback—electric vehicles—did for the brand, with the former accounting for 3,474 units and the latter 850.

Put another way, electric vehicles are a solid contributor to Audi’s overall sales.

The Audi Q4 e-tron. Part of the company’s electric offensive. It plans to have more EV models for sale in the U.S. by the end of 2021 than any other OEM. (Image: Audi)

And that number is likely to do nothing but increase. This summer the e-tron GT electric sports sedan will launch. With a starting priced of $99,990, odds are the numbers will be low. But there will be numbers.

But before the year is out, there will be two more models added to the electric Audi lineup, the Q4 e-tron and the Q4 Sportback e-tron.

Notably, the Q4 e-tron, a compact crossover, will have a starting price of under $45,000. And then there could be incentives and credits that could put people in an electric Audi for much less.

To learn about what Audi is doing in the EV space, on this edition of “Autoline After Hours” we talk with Matt Mostafaei, the Audi e-tron product manager. (The “we” consists of “Autoline’s” John McElroy, Stephanie Brinley of IHS Markit, and me.)

Mostafaei explains that one of the biggest challenges that they face with regard to getting more people to buy an e-tron is a lack of familiarity that they have with EVs. He suggests that once they’ve an understanding of the advantages that can be realized—like plugging in one’s vehicle at night, analogously to plugging in a phone, so as to have a full charge every morning—as well as the driving dynamics that are provided by an EV*, this will change.

While Tesla is certainly the dominant player in the category, and while Mostafaei says that they’d be glad to have Tesla owners or intenders come into Audi dealerships, he maintains that there is a far greater number of potential customers than just those who have gone the Tesla route.

Just think of all of the people who fuel their vehicles with gasoline. That’s a market.

Audi isn’t adding all of those EVs to its lineup just to be au courant.

As Mostafaei puts it, they see where the market is going and they’re going to help drive it forward.

In addition to which, McElroy, Brinley and I discuss a number of other vehicles, electric and otherwise, as well as the benefits OEMs—and consumers—can realize from tech like Ford’s just-introduced BlueCruise hands-free driving technology, and autonomous driving tech that will be shuttling people in Dubai—and which is shuttling pizzas in suburban Houston.

And you can see it all here.

Lichte on e-tron GT Design

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When Marc Lichte, head of Audi Design, unveiled the Audi e-tron GT concept at the 2018 LA Auto Show, he described it as “The most beautiful car I have ever drawn.”

Audi RS e-tron GT prototype (Images: Audi)

Lichte even thinks that this vehicle—which will be unveiled in its production version on February 9—will become a new design icon for the brand, answering a question whether that is the case by saying, “Yes, without a doubt.” But he acknowledges, “A car must acquire this reputation on the road—in an overstimulated environment that creates the will to strive for orientation.”

Which presumably means: cars may look great in studios or on turntables at auto shows (remember auto shows?), but you’ve got to get them out in the real world where they exist in relation to other vehicles.

Lichte went on to day: “True design icons have something that is unmistakably clear: For example, it takes only three lines to characterize a VW Beetle or a Porsche 911. They stand for a clear attitude.”

Given that all of the brands are under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, Lichte is undoubtedly well aware of the vehicles like the Beetle and the 911, which are certainly good bars to work to equal or exceed.–gsv