Audi: 20 electric models on four platforms

The MEB platform is structurally less flexible than the MQB; PPE comes to the rescue

Six of the Audi models that will soon be presented are already known. Two of them, the E-Tron and E-Tron Sportback SUVs, are already available on the market. Their names, without the otherwise typical brand designation with model numbers, are reminiscent of the Quattro model. As pioneers in the brand's electrical equipment, they bear only the E-Tron name. There will also be a number in the name below - for example, the Q4 E-Tron, which Audi presented as a concept model in Geneva in 2019 and whose production version will hit the market in 2012.

 Audi also unveiled the E-Tron GT with Porsche Taycan drive technology. The model should go into mass production by the end of 2020. In May 2019, then-Audi CEO Bram Shot said that an electric car would also be the successor to the Audi TT. The small circle also showed a version of the A5 Sportback, the interior of which, usually for electric vehicles, is larger than the corresponding model with an internal combustion engine and will be called the E6 (instead of the A6).

Four different modular systems for Audi electric models

Interestingly, several modular systems will be used as the basis for electrical models. Audi E-Tron and E-Tron Sportback are based on a modified version of the modular system for cars with a longitudinally mounted front engine MLB evo, which in versions for equipping internal combustion engines uses A4, A6, A7, A8, Q5, Q7, Q8 (see Series "Electric car yesterday, today and tomorrow", part 2). For an exceptionally sporty version of the E-Tron S, Audi installs three electric motors (two on the rear axle) providing a high level of torque vector. The normal E-Tron, on the other hand, has two electric asynchronous machines (one on each bridge).

The Q4 E-Tron will be the first MEB-based vehicle.

The compact SUV Q4 E-Tron is based on Volkswagen's MEB modular electric vehicle system, which will be used across the entire ID range. VW models and electric vehicles from other brands in the group (e.g. Seat El Born and Skoda Enyac). The MEB is equipped as standard with a permanent magnet synchronous motor with an output of 150 kW (204 hp) and a maximum torque of 310 Nm. Located parallel to the rear axle and reaching 16 rpm, this engine transmits its torque to the same rear axle through a single speed gearbox. MEB also provides dual transfer capability. This is done using an asynchronous electric motor on the front axle (ASM). The machine has a maximum power of 000 kW (75 hp), a torque of 102 Nm and a maximum of 151 rpm. The ASM can be overloaded for a short time, and sometimes when the car is only driven by the rear axle (most of the time) it creates little resistance because this type of design does not create a magnetic field when the car is turned off. According to VW, for this reason it is very suitable for activating additional traction for short periods of time and provides the MEB with a total system power of 14 hp. and double transmission.

As for the platform used by the E-Tron GT, everything is a little different. It was created only by Porsche engineers and uses the basic layout with a uniaxial engine, a two-speed rear transmission and recesses in the battery case. For this reason, it will be used by Taycan, its version of Cross Turismo and (probably) the corresponding derivative of Audi.

Future models in the segment are higher than compact models, i.e. in this case, higher than MEB, with power well above 306 hp. will be based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), which was jointly created by Porsche and Audi. It should combine technological elements from MLB Evo and Taycan. Since it will cater for both high-end models, such as the Macan mid-size SUV (like the Porsche in the electric version), and the relatively low and flat Audi E6, the battery design will have to be adapted to these different purposes. And for sports needs, two electric motors will be installed on the rear axle. It is not yet known whether there will be transmissions in one or several transmissions.

What lies ahead?

The models that will hit the market after the E-Tron and E-Tron Sportback are the E-Tron GT, Q4 E-Tron, TT E-Tron and E6. One of the following models is an off-road coupe based on the Q4 E-Tron called the Sportback. A model parallel to the VW ID.3 is possible, which could look like a studio AI:ME. Smaller models such as the Q2 E-Tron and Q2 E-Tron Sportback are also being discussed based on the MEB. However, Audi will have to position such models quite expensively because, unlike the MQB MEB, it is not as flexible and can only "shrink" physically within certain small limits and even lesser limits in terms of cost. Audi has announced that the TT will be an electric car, but the market in this segment has been declining for years, and its design will likely shift to a crossover. For this reason, in fact, the TT E-Tron may be included in the segment where versions of the possible E-Tron Q2 should be located.

A model called the Q2 E-Tron is now available in China as the L-version. Its appearance is close to the appearance of a regular Q2 with an internal combustion engine, and the movement technique is based on e-Golf. Most likely, electric sedans are used for Chinese models based on the new MEB, since this layout is still popular there.

What happens to the heirs of Q7 and Q8?

Audi is a premium brand and MEB's capabilities are limited to a certain level. From there, the relay goes to the PPE platform. A model similar to the E-Tron Q5, located above the E-Tron Q4 and corresponding to the future electric Porsche Macan, will have internal dimensions close to the dimensions of the current E-Tron, since the latter is still located on a modified non-electric platform. Much more logical would be the E6 Avant as an electrical alternative to the Q7 and Q8 SUVs. Such a model can become the basis of the new Porsche Cayenne with electric drive.

The hypotheses continue for the A7 and A8 equivalents. There is a small chance that the A7 E-Tron will fall between the E6 and the E-Tron GT, but the possibility of a luxury electric sedan is high. Competitors in this regard have already announced that they will offer similar models - the Mercedes EQS will hit the market in 2021, the new BMW 7 Series, whose top model with V12 will be replaced by an electric one, is expected in 2022. The standard model change cycle means the A8 successor should arrive around 2024, which is too late for Audi's luxury electric sedan. Therefore, it is quite possible that an A8 E-Tron based on PPE will appear. Meanwhile, time will tell if the combustion-engined A8 needs a successor.

Hack and predictor Aviator

Audi promises 20 all-electric models by 2025. Six are now fully defined, and we can only hypothesize for the remaining eight. Thus, there are six left for which we do not have enough information to suggest. Audi currently has 23 models (body styles) in its range without the E-Tron. If the forms correspond to electric models, then, like in VW, the question arises which one will be completely replaced by electric models. Because, unlike BMW, Audi and VW base their electric models not on common, but on separate platforms. Isn’t it too expensive to keep similar models on the market? And how will production be balanced, provided that the MEB-based models are made independently?

There are many more questions that Audi strategists are probably still thinking about and which will be addressed depending on the circumstances. For example, what will happen to the R8? Will it be technically close to the Lamborghini Huracan? Or will he become a hybrid? Due to the impossibility of reducing MEB practice, the electric version A1 is not possible. The latter, however, applies to the entire Volkswagen Group.

Currently known and are preparing to release Audi models:

• E-Tron 2018, based on MLB evo, introduced in 2018.

• The 2019 E-Tron Sportback, based on the MLB evo, was introduced in 2109.

• The Taycan-based E-Tron GT will be introduced in 2020.

• The Taycan-based E-Tron GT Sportback will be introduced in 2020.

• The ME4-based Q2021 E-Tron will be introduced in XNUMX.

• The ME4-based Q2022 E-Tron Sportback will be introduced in XNUMX.

• The TT E-Tron, based on MEB, will be introduced in 2021.

• The TT E-Tron Sportback, based on MEB, will be introduced in 2023.

• The E6 / A5 E-Tron Sportback, based on PPE, will be introduced in 2023.

• The E6 Avant, based on PPE, will be introduced in 2024.

• The A2 E-Tron, based on MEB, will be introduced in 2023.

• The MEB-based A2 E-Tron sedan will be introduced in 2022.

• The A8 E-Tron, based on PPE, will be introduced in 2024.

• E-Tron Q7, based on PPE, will be introduced in 2023.

• E-Tron Q8, based on PPE, will be introduced in 2025.