Audi AG will unveil a new concept car, the e-tron quattro, a fully electric sport utility vehicle, at the Frankfurt car show next month, the German automaker said this week.
The model, sized in between the Audi Q5 and Q7 four-door SUVs, will be able to travel 310 miles per charge, the company said, farther than Tesla Motors Inc.'s standard-level Model S sedan, which has a 270-mile range. The e-tron quattro, the company's first mainstream electric vehicle, will go into production in 2018. The company announced the car through what appeared to be a subtle jab at earlier plug-in electric vehicles, derided at times for their sluggishness and limited torque. "Electric driving at Audi is a pleasure, not a compromise," said Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, which recently surpassed Toyota Motor Corp. in total global sales for the first half of the year. "Moveable aerodynamic elements at the front, on the sides and at the rear improve the air flow around the car," the company said. The e-tron will likely challenge Tesla's Model X -- a medium-sized SUV with gull-wing doors -- market analysts said. First deliveries for the Model X are slated for September (*ClimateWire* <http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060023083/>, Aug. 6). The Audi electric will run on three electric motors and a lithium-ion battery and sets a new record in the SUV segment with low drag. "This contributes considerably to the long range of more than 500 kilometers," according to a company statement. Another luxury automaker announced this week that it will enter the premium plug-in space: Andy Palmer, chief executive of Aston Martin, told *Automotive News* on Tuesday that his company will bring an 800-horsepower, completely electric version of the Rapide, a sleek sedan, to market in 2017. Aston Martin will sell an electric DBX crossover model, still a concept car, by the end of the decade, Palmer said. _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
