Audi fans will know that the German car maker has been working on a fully-electric luxury SUV called e-tron ever since it first showcased the e-tron quattro concept back in 2015. Today, Audi unveiled the nearly ready e-tron SUV in India at its newly opened showroom in Gurugram. The showroom will house 21 Audi cars on the floor, including used cars. Although Audi has no official launch date for its new electric SUV, the Audi e-tron is expected to be launched in India in the coming months.
At the unveiling, Rahil Ansari, the Head of Audi India, took the opportunity to talk about some of the brand's new services. The first of them was the myAudi Connect app for smartphones, which, like Suzuki Connect and Hyundai Blue Link, will enable a user to control a host of features on their Audi, apart from getting essential information about their car remotely. The new smartphone connectivity service is optional on all existing Audi models and costs Rs 19,999 for a subscription period of three years.
The second service involves a digital retail experience for new Audi customers. For example, a customer interested in buying the Audi A8 L can customise their car (interior and exterior) on a tablet device provided by Audi at the comfort of their home. During the process, the customer will be able to observe real-time changes to the trim they're customising. Audi is also setting up virtual reality studios in some of its showrooms, which involves the use of a mixed reality headset and a Windows laptop.
The Audi e-tron is powered by a 95kWh lithium-ion battery, which Audi claims is good for up to 400 kilometres of driving range on a single charge. When connected to a 150kW DC fast-charger, the battery can regain 80 percent of its charge in thirty minutes. However, charging to full through a typical domestic wall socket (11kW) will take about 8 hours, 30 minutes. The e-tron, with its peak electrical output of 265 kW, can go from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 5.7 seconds.