Skip advert
Advertisement

New Audi e-tron compact hatch to lead brand’s electrification plans

Audi to electrify its entire range, with a new baby e-tron hatch and an all-electric R8 replacement on the cards

Audi is fast-tracking an electric vehicle programme that will see the German firm launch 20 fully electric cars by the middle of the next decade. A range of never-before-seen EVs is in the pipeline, but some of the brand’s best-known models will also make the switch to electric power.

While Audi’s focus will initially be on launching EVs at the upper end of its product range, where greater profits can be made, one of the most significant models to arrive will be a compact hatchback that will be priced from around £30,000.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Audi e-tron long-term test review

A rival for the forthcoming Volkswagen ID.3, as well as the Tesla Model 3, it will act as Audi’s entry point into EV ownership. The car will be the first of three Audi EVs to be based on the VW Group’s MEB architecture, designed for compact to mid-size vehicles.

Previewed in our exclusive images, the model, which is expected to feature ‘e-tron’ or ‘eO1’ in its name, will be similar in size to an Audi A3 but have greater levels of interior space afforded by the new platform.

Audi’s positioning as the premium brand in the VW Group means it’s not likely to offer the car with the ID.3’s smallest 45kWh battery; instead the choice will be between the 58kWh and 77kWh set-ups. This should offer a range of at least 250 miles, with up to 320 miles possible in a larger-battery edition that’s likely to rival the Model 3 on price.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

The MEB platform will let Audi offer entry-level cars with one electric motor at the rear, and a further motor on the front axle for those willing to pay extra for quattro four-wheel drive. It’s expected that the model will hit the market in 2021, giving VW, SEAT and Skoda time to launch their MEB cars first.

New electric Audi R8 due in 2022

With CO2 emissions targets putting more pressure on car makers to clean up their ranges, long-standing Audi models, which have for generations used combustion engines, are also set for a radical rethink. The next version of the brand’s flagship, the R8 supercar, is causing huge internal debate within the firm’s management.

Audi’s CEO Bram Schot said in the spring: “Focusing also means leaving out. For example, the R8 sports car: do we need a successor with a combustion engine? Does this fit in with our vision? The discussion will give us an answer to that.”

Advertisement - Article continues below

However, insiders have suggested that the R8 will have a successor and that it will be fully electric. Audi’s board member for technical development, Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler, told us that a technical solution has already been drawn up.

Audi e-tron GT concept review

“Normally you have a wheel at each corner with the battery pack in the centre, and the pack is 12 or 13 centimetres tall,” Rothenpieler told us. “But this makes the base of the seating point higher.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

“So for small, sporty cars with only two seats, we need a different concept – such as one bit of the battery in the centre of the car and another bit in front of the front wheels, or behind the rear wheels. Either way, we end up splitting the battery. That’s what we’re looking at for these iconic cars.”

This principle could also apply to the TT – another of Audi’s long-standing models that will be making the switch to electric power. “In a few years, we will replace the TT with a new emotive model in the same price range – an electric car,” Schot revealed.

Audi could put the electric TT and RE8 onto the PPE architecture it’s developing with Porsche. The platform is designed for low-riding models in a range of segments; the Porsche Taycan will be the first model to use the tech, while the Audi e-tron GT four-door coupé will follow in 2021.

The e-tron GT will be Audi’s third EV, following the e-tron and e-tron Sportback SUVs. It’s a direct competitor to the Tesla Model S and is expected to cost around £100,000 when it arrives in showrooms.

The model will use a 95kWh battery that will deliver a WLTP range of 250 miles. The battery will power an electric motor on each axle, and these combine to produce 582bhp and deliver a 0-62mph time of 3.5 seconds.

What do you think of our exclsuive Audi images? Let us know your thoughts below...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Goodbye 40 TDI: Audi drops the numbered engine names that confused us all
Audi 40 TDI badge
News

Goodbye 40 TDI: Audi drops the numbered engine names that confused us all

Audi is set to remove the powertrain naming strategy from the back of its cars
18 Mar 2024
Best new cars coming in 2024
Best new cars coming in 2024 - header image
Best cars & vans

Best new cars coming in 2024

There are some big new models from the likes of BMW, Citroen, Dacia, Ford, MINI, Skoda and more on the way in 2024
12 Mar 2024
Audi RS Avant megatest: the greatest fast Audi estate cars head-to-head
Audi RS Avant megatest - static header
Features

Audi RS Avant megatest: the greatest fast Audi estate cars head-to-head

We bring together the very best Audi RS Avants to celebrate 30 years of quattro-equipped fast estate cars
26 Dec 2023
Ken Block’s Electrikhana Two is a fitting tribute to the tyre destroying internet hero
Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron - front action
News

Ken Block’s Electrikhana Two is a fitting tribute to the tyre destroying internet hero

The new Electrikhana Two video was filmed in November 2022, less than two months before Ken Block’s death
6 Dec 2023

Most Popular

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay
Road tax documentation
News

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay

Drivers with newer cars will now pay £10 more per year, although the biggest gas guzzlers fare even worse
28 Mar 2024
Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power
Dacia Sandero - front
News

Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power

Both the Sandero and Sandero Stepway ranges have been tweaked, gaining more safety features to meet the latest regulations
26 Mar 2024
Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years
Upcoming Audi models - four-way image
News

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years

After a quiet few years, the German giant is gearing up for its biggest product onslaught to date
25 Mar 2024