Audi is about to enter the EV market with its first vehicle. The Audi e-tron SUV will enter production very soon. In fact, according to Automotive News, you can also already make a deposit. However, these potential customers, at least for now, can be from Europe only. The e-tron SUV is a big deal for Audi because it’ll serve as the luxury brand’s first full-on electric vehicle. Its main targets are the Tesla Model X and the also upcoming Jaguar I-Pace. Norway, which is Europe’s biggest EV market, has already contributed some 5,000 orders.
Those buyers were asked to put down a deposit of about 2,000 Euros. The e-tron SUV will be built in Belgium, and Audi dealerships there, as well as in Switzerland and Austria, are also taking reservations. Interestingly, Germany’s Audi dealers have yet to open the reservations book. Nor has China, one of Audi’s fastest-growing markets. Audi says reservations will begin in the near future for those countries but didn’t provide a precise date. The e-tron SUV is said to be capable of a 311-mile range and fast charging, two critical factors needed for premium EVs today. And it’ll be quite powerful with around 496 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. Expect a brisk 0-62 mph acceleration time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 130 mph.
Size wise, it’ll be smack dab in between the Q5 and Q7 SUVs. This particular e-tron is only the first of three. The e-tron Sportback, pictured here, will come next in 2019. The third EV, due in 2020, will be a smaller, more compact vehicle that’ll share a platform with Volkswagen’s also upcoming I.D. hatchback. By 2025, Audi is planning to have 20 electrified vehicles on sale. More than 10 will be full-on electric vehicles as opposed to hybrids or plug-in hybrids. We also recently learned Audi will launch in 2020 the e-tron GT, a four-door coupe that’ll share underpinnings with the Porsche Mission E. There are also plans for a new Audi EV supercar further down the road.
