When did Audi start making new energy vehicles? The answer is 100 years ago!

It is inevitable for luxury brands to enter the electric vehicle market. Tesla Model X was the first, followed by Jaguar i-Pace and Mercedes-Benz EQC. Audi, which has been deeply involved in the Chinese market for more than 30 years, plans to electrify its entire series of models by 2025, with new energy models accounting for 1/3 of total sales, and will take the lead in producing 10 new energy vehicles in China by 2022.

Why is Audi's electrification so aggressive? Today, let's take a look at its electrification journey.

Audi started its electrification journey very early. How early? Believe it or not, 100 years ago?

At the Paris World Expo in 1900, Ferdinand Porsche exhibited the "Lohner-Porsche" electric car. The media at the time called it "the first car in history without a gearbox". Each of the two front wheels was equipped with an electric motor. The overall shape was a two-seater carriage. It used lead-acid batteries, had a maximum speed of 37km/h, and a maximum range of 50km.

Maybe you are asking what this has to do with Audi. Let me tell you that Ferdinand Porsche is the designer of Auto Union, the predecessor of Audi.

Going back in time, after experiencing two oil crises in 1973 and 1979, Audi also launched the landmark model Audi Duo during this period.

In the 21st century, international oil prices fluctuated more and more, and people's demand for low-carbon and environmental protection became more and more urgent. Electric vehicles, whose batteries can be processed centrally and are no longer affected by oil price fluctuations, naturally became everyone's first choice.

The United States, Japan, and the European Union have successively released electric vehicle development strategies. Japan takes industrial competitiveness as its first goal and comprehensively develops three types of electric vehicles: hybrid, pure electric, and fuel cell. The United States takes energy security as its goal and emphasizes the development of plug-in electric vehicles. The European Union takes carbon dioxide emission regulations as its main driving force and focuses on the development of pure electric vehicles.

By this period, Audi had achieved mild hybrid power across its entire range of models, and had made rapid progress in oil-electric and plug-in hybrid developments, while also beginning to intensify its layout of pure electric vehicles.

In terms of hybrid vehicles, the Audi A6 Hybrid was launched in China in 2013. The Audi A8 Hybrid and the Audi Q5 Hybrid are also equipped with this hybrid system. The three models using hybrid technology are all main models. The power of the Hybrid model is significantly enhanced, and the fuel economy is also better, but it still cannot achieve zero emissions and the pure electric range is short. For example, the pure electric range of the Audi Q5 Hybrid is only 3km. Therefore, for Audi, Hybrid is more like an intermediate state of transition from traditional cars to pure electric products, the e-tron series.

In terms of plug-in hybrid, the Audi A1 e-tron made its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010. Equipped with a 75-kilowatt electric motor and a range-extending rotary engine to charge the battery, the vehicle's mileage can be increased by 200 km, with an average fuel consumption of only 1.9 liters per 100 kilometers and carbon dioxide emissions as low as 45 grams per 100 kilometers.

In terms of pure electric, in 2009, Audi's first pure electric concept car, the Audi e-tron concept, was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, marking the beginning of the e-tron series. Does it look like the R8? Yes, the exterior design of the e-tron concept uses many elements of the Audi R8. Its drive system uses four electric motors and a lithium-ion battery pack, with a maximum power of 230kW and a maximum torque of 4500Nm.

In 2015, the Shidi e-tron quattro concept car was released, which uses three high-efficiency electric motors and has an electric range of more than 500 kilometers.

In 2017, the Audi e-tron Sportback concept car made its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show. It has a single motor on the front axle and dual motors on the rear axle, with a maximum output of 370kW and an acceleration of 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds. The 95kWh lithium-ion battery provides a range of more than 500km. The mass-produced version of this model will be launched in 2019.

After that, it is the current pure electric SUV model e-tron that Audi is promoting. It can be said that Audi has never stopped on the road of electric new energy, starting with the Audi Duo, which was a milestone in the development of automobiles in the 1980s, to the hybrid camp consisting of the Audi A6 Hybrid, Audi A8L Hybrid and Audi Q5 Hybrid, to the e-tron family consisting of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, Audi A6L e-tron and Audi Q7 e-tron, and to the pure electric vehicles in the future. Audi's new energy has always been leading the development trend of the times.

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.