Audi issued another pure tram with a range of 700 kilometers and will be available in 2024

Car stuff (public number: chedongxi)

The author | James

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Audi unveiled a pure electric concept car, the A6 Avant e-tron.

At the Shanghai Auto Show held in April last year, Audi unveiled the A6 e-tron concept car, a pure electric version of the A6, which can be said to be quite stunning. The A6 e-tron also became the first concept model for the PURE ELECTRIC PLATFORM OF THE PPE (Premium Platform Electric).

▲左:A6 e-tron,右:A6 Avant e-tron

Not long ago, Audi held a small-scale online conference to show the domestic media the A6 pure electric station wagon, named A6 Avant e-tron.

From the styling point of view, the two cars are almost exactly the same, and even the length, width and height data of the two cars are exactly the same, which are 4.96m/1.96m/1.44m, but the station wagon version has more trunk space. At present, audi's A6 fuel version and A6 Avant wagon on sale are also similar, and the two cars meet the needs of users in different market segments.

The Audi A6 Avant e-tron is based on the PPE pure electric platform, with an 800V battery, a maximum charging power of 270kW, and it takes only 20 minutes to charge from 5% to 80%.

Since the car is still in the concept stage, the vehicle interior has not yet been announced. According to Audi's plan, the A6 Avant e-tron will go on sale in 2024, and we will be able to get more details about the car before going public.

First, based on the PPE platform to build almost the same as the A6 pure electric car

From the outside, the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept is a station wagon version of the A6 e-tron. The new car is 4.96m/1.96m/1.44m in length, width and height respectively, and the overall size is exactly the same as the A6 e-tron sedan version, and it is also very close to the fuel version of the A6 and A7.

▲ Audi A6 Avant e-tron release site

From the appearance, the front face of the vehicle is very similar to the Audi A6 e-tron that has been released last year, and the popular elements of electric vehicles in recent years - slender squinting LED headlights, Audi logos that can emit light, and closed front grilles are its main features.

Underneath the headlights on both sides, there is a depression that allows both air diversion and space for various driver assistance sensors.

▲ Audi A6 Avant e-tron headlights and taillights

To the side of the vehicle, it can be found that there is an aluminum alloy decorative strip running through the body above the door, from the A-pillar to the rear wing, and the entire rear wing is also made of aluminum alloy, which has a strong unity. Philipp Roemers, head of Audi's exterior design department, introduced that this design style can make the visual effect of the body more low.

Philipp Roemers, head of Audi's design department

At the rear of the car, the Audi A6 Avant e-tron features through-line taillights, a three-piece prismatic design for a set of lights, and the Audi logo in the center of the taillights can also emit red light. The Audi A6 e-tron is slightly different in that the taillights are a combination of two prisms.

At the same time, the A6 Avant e-tron has a relatively large diffuser at the bottom of the rear, which can reduce the lift of the whole vehicle.

▲ Audi A6 Avant e-tron tail

In terms of electric performance, the A6 Avant e-tron based on the PPE pure electric platform is basically the same as the A6 e-tron sedan, and the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT based on the J1 platform also have many similarities.

▲The Audi A6 Avant e-tron is based on the PPE platform

Among them, the A6 Avant e-tron has a maximum charging power of 270kW, charging from 5% to 80%, the time is 20 minutes, and the charging 10 minutes increases the cruising range of 300km. At the same time, this car also uses an 800V battery, which can be more efficient. In terms of endurance, the A6 Avant e-tron can reach 700km (no test standard specified).

▲ Audi A6 Avant e-tron side

Roemers revealed that the design and development of the Audi A6 Avant e-tron has begun 2 years ago. Moreover, 90% of this concept car and the mass production car can be consistent, and the proportion of the body will be fine-tuned before mass production, and there will be no major changes. According to the plan, the car will be launched in 2024. In other words, the development cycle of the whole vehicle has reached 4 years.

However, the A6 Avant e-tron may not be the first model based on the PPE platform. Before the A6 e-tron goes on sale, Audi will take the lead in mass production of the Q6 e-tron, which is scheduled to be released in 2023.

Second, do not do power exchange Demystify the difference between MEB and PPE positioning

In 2018, Audi released its first all-electric model, the e-tron, in San Francisco. In 2021, Audi released the Audi e-tron GT coupe, and also released the Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback, gradually expanding audi's compact pure electric SUV and pure electric coupe market. For the whole of last year, Sales of Audi's pure electric vehicles reached 82,000 units, an increase of 57% year-on-year.

It can be noted that the Audi Q4 e-tron series is based on the Volkswagen Group MEB platform, while the A6 Avant e-tron is built on the PPE platform, what is the difference between the two platforms?

According to the introduction, the models created by ppe and MEB two pure electric platforms correspond to different market segments. Models based on the MEB platform have a relatively short wheelbase, and the power of the vehicle is not as strong as that of the models on the PPE platform. Models based on the PPE platform have larger batteries and more powerful motors to meet the needs of long-distance travel.

▲PPE pure electric platform

Moreover, the mileage of car owners using compact cars based on the MEB platform is relatively short, so the mileage of the vehicle is not so high.

When it comes to future model plans, Audi plans to build a series of new cars based on the PPE platform from 2023, first building C-class cars and then building B-class cars. Audi models based on the PPE platform will also become the main model of the Audi brand in the future.

According to Audi R & D personnel, the important position of the PPE platform is equivalent to the MLB platform of fuel vehicles, but PPE is not a replacement for MLB. In the future, even if Audi wants to launch a plug-in hybrid model, it may not be based on the PPE platform.

▲ Audi A6 Avant e-tron

At the same time, Audi will not abandon C-class fuel vehicles for the time being, which is due to the inconsistency between the penetration rate of electric vehicles and the construction speed of electric vehicle infrastructure in various countries around the world.

In order to meet the actual needs of more Chinese users, Audi not only refers to a large number of market research, but even listens to the opinions of some core Chinese customers.

When it comes to the more popular electric vehicle power replacement and energy replacement model in the Chinese market, Audi said that it does not intend to do power replacement. Because the power battery, as an important part of the car, cannot be separated from the vehicle, and the electric vehicle is also designed around the battery. At the same time, for example, the A6 Avant e-tron has an endurance of 700km, and the anxiety of endurance can be greatly alleviated.

Conclusion: Audi continues to develop pure electric vehicles

As one of the giants of luxury brands, Audi attaches great importance to the transformation of electrification. In 2019, the first pure electric SUV Audi e-tron was put on sale, followed by the launch of the e-tron GT high-performance coupe, testing the pure electric market from different directions.

By 2022, with the explosive growth of electric vehicles in the three major auto markets of China, the United States and Europe, Audi has also launched a pure electric version for its ace model A6, and there are also very personalized pure electric station wagons. Audi's continuous efforts to make pure electric vehicles will make the competition in the luxury pure electric market in the next few years more exciting.