It was only recently that we told you how Audi was aiming to launch the e-tron in India as per schedule, global delays not withstanding. Now, we have more details as the Audi e-tron has been previewed in India for the first time before its launch in the months to come.
Audi is upbeat about the e-tron's India prospects. Speaking to Autocar India, Audi India head Rahil Ansari confirmed the company is targeting sales of over 200 units of the e-tron annually, a substantial figure for an electric vehicle that’s likely to cost a fortune.
“We’ll be targeting sales of over 200 units (of the e-tron), and for a car that’s going to cost over Rs 1 crore, that’s quite an amount”, said Ansari in an interview with Autocar India.
The e-tron showcased at the India preview was a left-hand-drive, Euro-spec model, and final specifications for the India-spec e-tron haven’t been confirmed yet. That said, expect it to be more or less similar to the model sold in Europe, and that includes cameras in place of conventional wing mirrors. Audi is bringing the e-tron to India as a full import now that the government has relaxed norms, allowing carmakers to import 2,500 passenger vehicles a year without requiring them to be homologated in India. As a result, the cameras – approved by the authorities in Germany – will also be legal in India.
Audi also shared some details about the charging infrastructure it plans to install for the e-tron. Every e-tron buyer will get a standard home charging setup, but fast-chargers will only be installed at select Audi dealerships across the country, likely in the metros and in locations with a higher concentration of e-tron buyers. To put it into perspective, the e-tron can be charged to 80 percent capacity in just 30 minutes via a DC fast-charger, but it’ll take 8.5 hours via a 400-volt three-phase outlet.
To give you a recap, the Audi e-tron is a five-seat SUV that sits between the Q5 and Q7 in terms of size, gets a 95kWh battery pack which powers two electric motors – a 125kW unit at the front and 140kW unit at the rear – with a total of 360hp and 561Nm of torque being sent to all four wheels. In Boost mode, power is cranked up to 408hp and 661Nm of torque, and in that mode, the e-tron cracks 0-100kph in 5.7sec, and is limited to a top speed of 200kph. And while Audi states a range of over 400km on the WLTP cycle, our first drive from Abu Dhabi revealed owners can expect a real-world range of over 300km.
Audi intends to launch the e-tron in India by early 2020, but is trying to pull it forward to late-2019. Being a fully imported luxury EV, expect the Audi e-tron's price in India to be upwards of Rs 1 crore.
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