Following on from Volkswagen’s own e-mobility plans, Audi too has spoken about strengthening its hybrid and electric drive portfolios.
Among the initial plans, Audi will debut a Q5 Hybrid in late 2010/early 2011 that will be the first production Audi hybrid. It will be followed with the debut of the A8 hybrid concept car, which is scheduled to be revealed in Geneva later today, and boasts CO2 emissions of 144g/km. Another Geneva debutant will be the Audi A1 E-tron (see article), which is an extended range electric vehicle. It is widely anticipated that Audi will launch the E-tron electric car by the end of 2012.
The Audi A8 Hybrid has two power units – the 2.0 TFSI engine and the electric motor, which have a combined output of 180kW and 480Nm of torque. Average fuel consumption is 38mpg and CO2 emissions are 144g/km. The vehicle uses a parallel hybrid configuration with an electric motor integrated between the four-cylinder petrol engine and the eight-speed transmission.
The Audi A1 E-tron by contrast, is electrically propelled with a range of more than 31 miles in city traffic. It uses a compact range extender that consists of a single-rotor Wankel engine and electrical generator. The mean fuel consumption is 1,248mpg and CO2 emissions are equivalent to just 45g/km.
Speaking about the plans, Rupert Stadler, the chairman of the board of management for Audi AG, stated that in future customers will be able to choose from a broad range of driveline technologies and that the current TDI and FSI engines will be accompanied by electric power. He said that the hybrid driveline will be followed by all-electric vehicles and the “E-tron” name will play a similar role for the Audi brand as the “Quattro” synonym.
Meanwhile, Michael Dick, a member of the board of management for technical development at Audi AG, outlined that full hybrids will be used primarily to reduce fuel consumption and that plug-in hybrids will demonstrate their strong points when drivers expect to cover longer distances in electric mode. Meanwhile, electric cars will come into their own in urban mobility areas.
