Audi has used the Geneva stage to unveil the Audi Q7 e-tron quattro. The seven-seater gets a new plug-in diesel-electric system. Set to go on sale in international markets at the end of 2015, the Q7 e-tron quattro is the first in a range of new Audi models to receive the newly developed hybrid powertrain.

Developed wholly in-house, the modular system is based around the German car maker’s familiar turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 common-rail diesel, delivering 254bhp and 61.1kgm of torque. It is mated with a disc-shaped electric motor mounted in the front section of the Q7 e-tron quattro’s standard eight-speed automatic gearbox, developing 126bhp and 35.7kgm. Together they provide a combined system output of 368bhp and 52.7kgm – sufficient, according to Audi, to give it a 0-100kph time of 6 seconds and a 225kph top speed. Energy for its electric motor is provided by a 17.3kWh lithium-ion battery mounted within the floor of the boot and consisting of 168 individual cells.

A two-phase system allows charging at up to 7.2kW. Audi claims an overall charge time of up to two-and-a-half hours on a high-voltage system. To boost efficiency, the Q7 e-tron quattro's diesel-electric hybrid system also receives an integrated heat pump. It collects waste heat from the electric drive components and uses it to heat the cabin of the new Audi when required – a first on a production-based hybrid, according to Audi.

Almost all of the design elements, inside and out, are carried over from the new Audi Q7, which was unveiled at the Detroit motor show. The second-generation Q7 is based on a heavily modified version of Audi’s MLB platform, which uses a combination of hot-formed high-strength steel and aluminium as part of its weight reduction program. The same platform is also planned to underpin successors to the second-generation Volkswagen Touareg, second-generation Porsche Cayenne, upcoming Bentley Bentayga and, possibly, a production version of the Lamborghini Urus.