From e-tron to “Breaking Out” of Audi, a Century-old Luxury Brand

Author: Da Shi

We live in a fast-changing world, where “the new world has shown its sharp teeth, and one must either swallow it or ride on its back.”

This also applies to the automotive industry. Currently, Chinese car companies’ innovations in the new energy vehicle sector seem to be built on the strong tailwinds of the new fourth or fifth industrial revolution. As a century-old luxury brand, Audi seems to have arrived late to the party. Its every step, however, has been resolute and forceful.

Besides Audi, there is more than one car company targeting the high-end new energy vehicle market.

Mercedes-Benz and BMW, long-time rivals for a century, not to mention the strong challenges from new contenders such as Tesla, NIO, and GAC.

As the luxury car brand known as “the best in understanding China,” Audi is not merely a means of transportation to the Chinese people. It also represents identity, wealth, and status. When Audi chose its first luxury pure electric C-class SUV, the e-tron, as its debut pure electric car in China, it had already declared its attitude — Even in the era of electric cars, Audi still understands China the best.

Not Following the Standards ≠ Completely Overturning Them

Under the wave of electrification, traditional car companies urgently need to upgrade and update, and companies like Audi face even greater transformation difficulties due to their size. However, the essence of an electric car is still a “car,” and for Audi, making good cars is what they do best.

Audi does not want to turn the e-tron into a purely flashy product. Its designers once said that Audi doesn’t want the e-tron to become a product of genetic mutations. At the beginning of the product design phase, the designers decided that the e-tron would still follow traditional design principles rather than completely overturn them, even though it is still based on the non-pure electric MLB evo platform.

We can see that e-tron has a shape similar to Audi’s existing fuel-powered models, but it doesn’t have exactly the same stance — although it is still based on the non-pure electric MLB evo platform, Audi has specially designed a brand new steel and aluminum mixed body for it, rather than simply applying the complete frame of a fuel-powered vehicle like some “oil-to-electric” models.

The iconic design exclusive to Audi is also fully embodied in this pure electric SUV. The large octagonal front grille is not completely closed but uses multi-layer horizontal structures to create a sense of hierarchy. It is integrated into the LED daytime running lights and through-type taillights, becoming the new design language of the e-tron family.

In addition, the S line appearance package added to the domestic version of the Audi e-tron model further enhances the sporty atmosphere.

With such high recognition, the Audi e-tron no longer needs to emphasize its identity by adding so-called “blue elements” of new energy vehicles.

In the car, Audi’s proud virtual cockpit once again becomes the focus. The simple and crude suspended center console screen is really not related to the word “luxury,” so Audi designed a slightly driver-oriented scheme with a 10.1-inch center console screen and 8.6-inch control screen, both with touch-activated sound and vibration feedback functionality.

Coupled with electronic gear sticks similar to aircraft control sticks, a 12.3-inch full LCD instrument panel, an Audi A8-style steering wheel, a 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, and more, the static “luxury” of the Audi e-tron is pushed to a very high level.

With a length of nearly 5 meters and a wheelbase of 3 meters, the interior space of the e-tron is fully utilized. The newly designed body tries to avoid a protrusion in the middle of the rear row and compresses it to an almost negligible degree. In my impression, the e-tron may be the only Audi model currently without a significant protrusion in the middle of the rear row.

quattro is still there, but with electricity

I don’t know when it started, but it seems that we are paying more and more attention to the “intelligence” level of an electric car, and often argue about the difference of 0.X seconds in the acceleration time of 100 kilometers. However, we neglect the good “driving control” experience that a proper car should have.

In Audi’s perception, the luxury of an electric car must include a luxurious driving experience.

Therefore, the e-tron is still an Audi, although subtle differences brought by electrification can be felt in many details, Audi still strives to make it closer to our familiar fuel vehicles in motor and power tuning. For example, insisting on using a dual-motor system to achieve e-quattro electric four-wheel drive, balancing the front and rear weight distribution, and using the same front and rear aluminum multi-link suspension structure as the flagship Q8 and so on.

The dual asynchronous induction motor system with maximum power of 230 kW and maximum torque of 540 N·m brings abundant power to Audi e-tron. With the help of a 2-speed automatic transmission, it can not only have good starting acceleration performance, but also ensure better power efficiency during high-speed driving, reducing energy consumption.

The standard adaptive air suspension can adjust the minimum ground clearance between 163-216 mm, allowing the e-tron to have a super-low center of gravity like a sedan and solid shock absorption performance. The pure electric e-quattro electric four-wheel drive system can achieve a response speed 4 times faster than traditional mechanical structures, while making torque distribution more precise and predicting lockout ability further improved. Combined with Audi’s progressive steering system, it only requires very little steering force to move quickly and accurately.

Although kinetic energy recovery is good, Audi does not want the driver to change their driving habits because of it. Therefore, the default kinetic energy recovery of the e-tron is very slight, and the recovery strength can be adjusted between three gear positions of -0.1G, -0.2G, and -0.3G through the paddle shifters to simulate the driving experience of a gasoline vehicle as much as possible.

To make this “beast” with a weight of over 2.6 tons stop smoothly, a top-notch braking system is essential. Audi equips the e-tron with front 6 and rear 2-piston exclusive orange brake calipers and the widest 265mm tires across the range, which can enhance the driver’s confidence and allow people to drive this power confidently.“`
To be nitpicky, the Audi e-tron did not adopt Bosch’s iBooster line control system, but the traditional hydraulic brake system. As a result, when the mechanical brakes and energy recovery overlap at the critical point, slight fluctuations in braking force could still be felt.

Safety is the prerequisite for everything; to ensure safety, e-tron battery pack did not follow the trend of using large modules and CTP solutions. Instead, it still uses 36 hard pack cell modules, combined with intensive frame separation and cooling system, and covered by three layers of aluminum alloy protection structure to provide strict protection for the battery pack.

The battery pack has also been tested with standards several times higher than the national standards for safety. To ensure the long-term safety and service life of the battery, e-tron has software-sealed about 13% of the electricity (packaged with 96.7 kWh, available 83.6 kWh), thus effectively avoiding overcharging and over-discharging and greatly delaying the time to enter the trickle charging mode during charging.

Finally, the Audi e-tron can achieve a range of 500 km (NEDC), with only 40 minutes of direct current fast charging time from 5% to 80%. It has also become the first pure electric vehicle to receive the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ highest safety rating worldwide.

The Future of a Century-old Heritage

For Audi, a brand with a century-old label, when creating a new product, the focus is not only on innovation but also on ensuring compliance with its strict standards. Luxury demands, safety guarantees, and driving experiences are all Audi’s advantages and the differentiating factors in the electric vehicle industry.

Undoubtedly, the first pure electric vehicle named “e-tron” fully displays Audi’s long-term accumulation, and its development and tuning of driving experience showcases the uniqueness of Audi e-tron.

Just as the eye-catching slogan on the Audi official website says: “As the first pure electric vehicle of the Audi brand, we have poured the 110-year car manufacturing process into every detail. While endowing it with electricity, we give it the ability to reach for every impossible.” These are the abilities that the new forces of car manufacturing need to accumulate over a long period.

Therefore, the significance of e-tron is not only a luxurious electric product, but also its opening of the electric era 2.0 strategy of the Audi brand.
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In addition to the existing e-tron, e-tron Sportback, and e-tron GT, the Q4 e-tron family based on the MEB platform and the A6 e-tron based on the new PPE platform are also getting closer and closer to us.

In addition to this, Audi has also introduced a new service strategy called “Audi with e” that includes four key services: Audi with e-purchase, Audi with e-charge, Audi with e-drive, and Audi with e-protect. These measures eliminate users’ worries and concerns in every usage scenario, allowing users to enjoy a perfect balance between electric technology and life.

Starting with e-tron, Audi is demonstrating a benchmark attitude towards meeting users’ comprehensive value needs in the Chinese market, and using rich product configurations and excellent driving experience to tell those who are attempting to overturn luxury cars what a true luxury car looks like.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.