Audi's world premiere of 3 e-tron models in Shanghai

Vehicles combine high performance and driving range with fuel economy, low emissions

German luxury vehicle icon Audi is on the fast track with its electric vehicle strategy in China by bringing three world-premiere e-tron models to the ongoing Shanghai auto show.

The three models are the Audi prologue allroad concept, the new Q7 e-tron quattro and the Audi A6L e-tron, all using the carmaker's leading technologies for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, known as PHEVs in the industry.

Just as "quattro" has become a symbol of Audi's four-wheel drive technology, e-tron represents the brand's achievements in electric vehicles.

Epitomizing the brand's future design orientation, the Audi prologue allroad concept is equipped with a 4.0 liter V8 engine for turbo fuel stratified injection, also known as TFSI, and a motor with an eight-speed tiptronic transmission, producing peak power of 540 kW and top torque of 900 Nm.

Through the Audi quattro all-wheel drive power system, the concept car can skillfully react to complicated road situations.

It takes the hybrid concept car 3.5 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 km/hour, with fuel consumption of 2.4 liters every 100 kilometers.

The battery has a volume of 14.1 kW/hour and can drive 54 km on a single charge in electric mode.

As the world's first car that combines TFSI hybrid technology and quattro AWD technology, the new Q7 e-tron 2.0 TFSI quattro is tailor-made for customers in the Asian markets including China, Japan and Singapore, where diesel engines are not well accepted and more spacious legroom is preferred.

Armed with a 2.0-liter TFSI four-cylinder engine and an eight-speed tiptronic transmission, the Q7 e-tron can produce top power of 270 kW and peak torque of 700 Nm.

It can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds and consumes 2.5 liters of fuel per kilometer, resulting in less than 60 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer - the best performance in its segment.

Electric sedans

Besides applying its PHEV technology to SUVs, Audi's efforts to build an electric sedan started in 2010. Audi AG, FAW-VW and Shanghai-based Tongji University jointly developed a pure electric car named "Urban Morning Light", based on that year's locally made Audi A6L

In 2012, FAW-VW Audi premiered the Audi A6L e-tron concept in Beijing, and set the tone that future Audi A6L e-tron would be plug-in models.

The FAW-VW Audi A6L e-tron plug-in hybrid model premiering at the Shanghai auto show is one step further than its 2012 concept predecessor.

It has a 2.0-liter TFSI engine and a disc electric motor to jointly produce peak power of 180 kW and top torque of 500 Nm.

Separately, the 2.0-liter TFSI four-cylinder engine that uses Audi's most advanced technologies has peak power of 155 kW and top torque to 350 Nm, while the disc motor delivers 91 kW and 220 Nm.

The lightest vehicle in its segment, the Audi A6L e-tron weighs only 2,000 kilograms, resulting in an 8.4-second acceleration from zero to 100 km/h and peak speed of 210 km/h. It consumes 2.2 liters of fuel per kilometer and produces 52 grams of carbon dioxide.

In electric mode, the model can travel 50 km on a single charge. In hybrid mode, the car can travel 880 km on a single charge.

The Audi A6L is a luxury sedan in China and a core product of FAW-Volkswagen Audi. To launch a plug-in hybrid version on its base shows the significance to the joint venture of the e-tron strategy, according to the company.

The Audi A6L e-tron 2.0 will start local production at the joint venture's Changchun plant in Northeast China in 2016, the company said.

Strategy in China

Compared to its competitors, Audi's electric vehicle strategy is more solid and cautious, starting from plug-in hybrids, which, compared to pure electrics, are easier to promote in developed countries, with less reliance on charging booths and no need to change driving habits.

With an early start making its first "e-tron" electric vehicle in 2009, Audi premiered its first massively produced e-tron model, the A3 Sportback e-tron, in 2013, after four years of research and experiments.

Rupert Stadler, chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, described the A3 e-tron as "an impressive highlight of the year 2014", at the company's annual press conference on March 10 in Ingolstadt, Germany, where Audi's first plug-in hybrid was produced.

He praised the Audi A3 e-tron's unique combination of high performance, range and fuel consumption that results in less than 35 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.

In 2015, the Audi A3 Sportback will pioneer Audi's e-tron family to tap the Chinese market, following road tests in southern China's Guangzhou city in 2014, according to the company.

With the e-tron strategy strengthened in China, the automaker is aiming at greater achievements in this emerging, yet important market, the company said.

"The Four Rings stand for this premium promise worldwide. And our customers recognize that," Stadler said, adding that, in China, Audi was placed in first position for the fifth time in succession in the JD Power survey of customer service in 2014 and was awarded 11 of 18 first places by the Chinese "Auto Motor and Sport" magazine the same year.

"In China, we are also an undisputed leader - and we have further extended our lead," he said.

In 2014, despite the setback of the world economy in the middle of the year, Audi delivered more than half a million cars in China.

"Our models that we produce locally are strong growth drivers," the chairman said. "With the long wheel base versions of the Audi A4 and A6, the Audi Q3 and Q5 and the A3 Sportback and Sedan, we are the only German premium car brand to produce six models in China."

"This commitment pays off: We are clearly leading the segment," he said.

xuxiao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/20/2015 page15)