The myth of Tesla Model X finally faded after the appearance of Audi e-tron. Audi e-tron told the entire electric vehicle industry with its balanced qualities that the story of luxury electric SUV has just begun.

After a year of anticipation, Audi's first pure electric SUV, the e-tron, will finally be launched in China. Its price of 700,000 to 830,000 yuan is particularly reasonable in the luxury electric SUV field.

In fact, it is not just the price. Overall, Audi launched the e-tron not just to make it a big toy for geeks or electric car enthusiasts, but to make "electric cars" truly accepted by the general public through its own efforts, thereby promoting the development of the industry.

Considering it from another angle, while its own fuel vehicles are still thriving in the industry, Audi is actively developing electric vehicles. This also shows Audi's courage in self-innovation - this is very much like when Apple was at the peak of its iPod career, it was keenly aware that mobile phones would be the next explosion point in the industry, and it turned the company's strength to the mobile phone track, thereby achieving a second prosperity.

Audi is the veteran in the new energy race

Earlier than we thought, as early as 1989, Audi launched the first generation of duo concept car. The biggest highlight of this car was the use of hybrid drive. From then on, Audi began its journey of new energy.

After more than 20 years of hard work, in 2009, Audi released its first pure electric concept car named e-tron at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany - this is also the predecessor of Audi's first pure electric SUV car e-tron.

Although it is only a concept car, the 2009 e-tron already has performance that is enough to shock the industry. It is equipped with a 42.4kWh lithium-ion battery, which can provide a range of 248km.

Although this parameter seems a bit shabby now, it is comparable to the same era. Tesla, the unicorn in the electric vehicle industry, was still relying on PPT to build cars in 2008. Therefore, it can be said that the birth of the 2009 e-tron is no less significant than the first generation of iPhone.

Unlike the high-profile Musk, Audi has been based on consumer experience since its inception, and therefore has not actively entered the consumer field.

Therefore, Tesla and Audi are just like this: one is moving, iterating and updating at the expense of consumer experience; the other is quiet, repeatedly creating electric cars with an idealistic temperament like a craftsman.

Finally, between the movements and the noise, Tesla and Audi began a head-on confrontation in the electric SUV market in 2019.

Luxury electric SUV = Tesla? NO!

Although the new e-tron does not adopt a 7-seat design, considering the price and configuration, it can be found that the e-tron is benchmarked against Tesla's high-end model - Model X.

The Audi e-tron has a battery capacity of 95kWh, a range of 525km under the EU NEDC standard, and a price of 700,000 yuan; the Tesla Model X 100D has a battery capacity of 100kWh, a range of 542km under the EU NEDC standard, and a price of 794,000 yuan.

Overall, while keeping the price as low as possible, the Audi e-tron is almost the same as the Tesla Model X 100D in terms of battery capacity and range - this is undoubtedly a great irony and pressure for Tesla, which has always boasted that its battery technology is the world's leading.

More importantly, Audi has also launched a fast charging function of up to 150kW for the e-tron, which can charge 80% of the e-tron's power in just 30 minutes. In comparison, the super charging pile that Tesla has worked so hard to build has a power of only 120kW.

In terms of charging efficiency, according to the FastNed test, the e-tron's 150kW fast charging power can be maintained before 80% of the power without attenuation, but Tesla's 120kW fast charging power drops sharply after only reaching 65% of the power.

Judging from history and results, although Audi only allowed consumers to experience pure electric SUVs in 2019, this does not mean that Audi has not made efforts in pure electric vehicles before - compared with Tesla, one can feel Audi's hidden strength more clearly. It can launch a flagship product that is not inferior to Tesla at once, as if indicating that Audi still has more big tricks to release.

It can be said that, considering the price and performance, Audi has broken the high-end moat that Tesla has worked so hard to build in one fell swoop. This is not only of great strategic significance to Audi, but also of great benefit to the entire electric vehicle market and consumers.

Audi injects new vitality into the electric vehicle industry

Looking at the electric vehicle industry in 2019, it seems that it has always been shrouded in dark clouds - NIO cars caught fire one after another and eventually recalled 4,803 ES8 electric vehicles; Xiaopeng launched the 2020 Xiaopeng G3 before old users had received the car, which not only had a lower price but also a longer range, breaking the hearts of countless old users in an instant; even Tesla, the unicorn in the electric vehicle industry, had to rely on the low-priced Model 3 to educate the market, and was trapped in a vortex of losses and could not extricate itself...

At this point in time, as a traditional car company, Audi launched an electric car that the new forces are focusing on. In addition to its own development, it seems to bring enough confidence to the industry.

Unlike the new forces mentioned above that can squander brand value unscrupulously, Audi, as a manufacturer with a century-old history, will ensure that its products are above the passing line. Therefore, the e-tron will help consumers to re-understand electric vehicles.

According to Audi's official data, Audi's global sales reached 1.81 million vehicles in 2018. In China, Audi has led the luxury car market for 30 consecutive years.

This data shows that Audi has inherent advantages in launching high-end electric SUVs in the Chinese market. In addition, Audi has been operating marketing channels for decades, which will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the sales of e-tron.

With its powerful strength, relatively reasonable price and mature channels, the Audi e-tron is undoubtedly a rare and sincere work in the field of high-end electric vehicles today.

I believe that with the entry of traditional manufacturers, Tesla, which once stood out in the electric vehicle field due to its lack of strong competitors, will face tremendous pressure.

However, this is also a good thing for consumers. After all, competition represents the vitality of the industry and there is room for product improvement.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.