Audi's first pure electric SUV e-tron will be launched next year, a major innovation to change the bad habit of false labeling in the electric vehicle market

In the chess game of new energy vehicles in China, although traditional luxury car brands have been watching from the sidelines and have not launched actual mass-produced models, their concerned eyes have never wandered away, and they have continuously released favorable developments about the industry. In fact, no one has ever thought that they will miss out on China's booming new energy vehicle industry. The only question is when will they come?

e-tron, Audi speed at the right time

On November 16, Audi officially launched the pure electric model e-tron in Guangzhou. This is a medium-to-large SUV with a size between Q5-Q7. The overall shape and interior are closer to Q8. While retaining almost all Audi elements, it has also made many innovations in the three-electric system.

As the first mass-produced car launched by a traditional luxury car brand in China, the e-tron is promised to be launched in early 2019. By 2020, pure electric vehicles built on the modular electric platform MEB will roll off the production line at the FAW-Volkswagen Foshan plant and the SAIC Volkswagen Anting plant.

There is no monkey-like rush to buy, no appetite-whetting marketing, and the confidence of mass-produced cars is just a new arrival. Compared with the endless suspense farce of Internet PPT car manufacturing, or the long pre-sale time that competitors are good at, the rapid landing speed has become the advantage of Audi, a traditional brand.

This is a slap in the face for some new car manufacturers, and also a true reflection of the strength of traditional luxury car brands. While Tesla was racking its brains to complete orders, Audi's Brussels factory, the world's first carbon neutrality certified factory, already had 3,000 front-line workers ready to fight. They completed the complete transformation of the factory in less than two years. As a result, even though the number of reservations for e-tron in North America has long exceeded 100,000, the boss of the Brussels production line can still follow the routine without having to eat and sleep in the office with a quilt.

Behind the e-tron's rapid speed is Audi's fully launched electrification strategy. Thomas Owsianski, President of Audi China, said: "Audi e-tron marks the full launch of Audi's electrification strategy. China is one of the main markets for Audi's global electrification strategy, and Audi will launch more new energy models in China in the future. The Audi brand's electric offensive is just in time!"

According to Audi's comprehensive electrification schedule, in 2022, Audi will offer 10 new energy vehicle models in the Chinese market. By 2025, new energy vehicles will account for 30% of Audi's total sales.

The reason why it is timely is that China has become the world's largest producer and seller of electric vehicles. Last year, more than half of the world's electric vehicles were sold in China. However, in the field of luxury electric vehicles, except for Tesla, there is no real strong player. Secondly, China has not only put forward strict requirements on the endurance and subsidies of new energy vehicles, but also standardized the market while clearing false propaganda, giving enough space to real players in the market. In addition, car manufacturers are facing a double points system. In short, if a car manufacturer does not produce a certain number of new energy vehicles in a certain year, all production qualifications will no longer be retained.

Audi e-tron comes at the right time. As representatives of traditional BBA, it is still a question of when Mercedes-Benz and BMW's pure electric models will be launched in China. What is certain is that when Tesla starts production in China and Audi sets a localization schedule, the actions of other luxury brands will also be accelerated accordingly.

But the reality is that Audi and Volkswagen behind it are the fastest and most methodical in China. Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, member of the Volkswagen Group Management Board and President and CEO of Volkswagen Group (China), said: "Next year alone, we plan to invest more than 4 billion euros in China with our partners. These funds will be used in electric vehicles, connectivity, mobile travel services, research and development, efficient production processes and new product development."

From NEDC to WLTP, e-tron changes the Chinese electric vehicle market

The Audi e-tron is equipped with a 95kWh lithium battery pack, which consists of 36 standard sub-modules and the battery cells come from LG Chem. According to foreign media estimates, the comprehensive cost of using batteries for the e-tron is already lower than that of Tesla.

How electric vehicles can ensure their range, in addition to increasing the number of batteries and enhancing energy density, is to work hard to reduce weight and wind resistance. Thanks to its excellent design, the e-tron's wind resistance coefficient reaches 0.27Cd, which is lower than many sedans and is rare in medium and large SUVs.

In addition, the Audi e-tron also uses heat pump technology, which effectively alleviates the common problem of electric vehicles' reduced mileage in winter. It is reported that Audi's heat pump system combines the vehicle's air conditioning with battery thermal management. At low temperatures, it can not only heat and wake up the battery pack, but also conduct the waste heat generated by the battery to the cabin as warm air, thus maximizing the comfort of using electric vehicles in winter.

There is no doubt that Audi has accumulated a lot of technology in batteries and electronic control. Audi has announced that the e-tron's range under the WLTP test standard is 400 km .

The full name of the WLTP (World Light Vehicle Test Procedure) test procedure is the global light vehicle fuel consumption test standard. It is currently the world's closest test to the vehicle's range in a real driving environment. Previously, most electric vehicles sold in the Chinese market were based on NEDC (New European Driving Cycle), which is also the test standard for the comprehensive mileage of pure electric vehicles by my country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. There have been enough complaints about this standard, so that users are accustomed to discounting the nominal mileage by 30% or even 50% when buying electric vehicles. Previously, a certain Internet car brand with a price of more than 400,000 yuan had a nominal range of 355km, but the actual range of only 200km embarrassed many fans.

Now, Audi e-tron has announced its range under the WLTP test standard for the first time, making the nominal range and actual range no longer far apart. For the future of China's electric vehicle industry, when more and more users accept this concept, it will inevitably affect and even change the current situation of the electric vehicle market where false labels are rampant.

In addition to the nominal conscientious range, the e-tron can be fully charged in just 30 minutes on a 150-kilowatt fast-charging facility. Starting next year, the IONITY fast-charging network system jointly built by Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and other car manufacturers will also be further implemented, fundamentally improving users' range anxiety.

Audi's first move is to enter the market with medium and large SUVs. The e-tron is obviously not Audi's test work, but its most obvious flagship product. In the increasingly hot electric vehicle market, Audi is ready and on standby. As for other luxury brands, they should catch up soon.

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.