A few days ago, we obtained a set of FAW-Volkswagen Audi Q4 e-tron declaration information from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The new car is Audi's first model born on the MEB platform, and it is the same platform model as the Volkswagen ID.4. Judging from the information released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the new car is basically indistinguishable from when it was unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show last year. But today, this car seems to be a "diving master", and there are not many splashes.
Compared with weilai ES7, ideal L9 and even M5, Q4 r-tron is not as good as domestic independent brands in terms of topicality and popularity. As one of the three domestic luxury giants BBA, Audi, why is the road to new energy so bumpy? Whether it is Audi e-tron, Q2 e-tron, Q5 e-tron, there are very few running on the road, why does Audi seem to stagnate under the trend of new energy? Today we will find out what is wrong with Audi through the Q4-e-tron that has just been declared.
Before the beginning, let's play a game of finding stubble, the two cars in the picture above are who are the Volkswagen and who is the Audi? How many differences are there between the two cars?
01
A brief review of the MEB platform
The basis of the Volkswagen Group's new energy strategy
As representatives of traditional car brands, Volkswagen and Toyota are both brothers of the world's major automobile manufacturers (the kind that takes turns). But have you found that whether it is BMW, Mercedes-Benz, GM, etc., they have only officially launched their own pure electrification platform in recent years. In contrast, the new forces, weilai ES8 has entered its fifth year, and tesla model 3 has even been sold for 6 years.
Entering the market too late and leaving little share is also one of the factors that cause the current dilemma of Audi New Energy.
Of course, this does not mean that the MEB platform is not good enough.
In terms of the motor of the MEB platform, the front asynchronous motor and the rear synchronous motor are adopted. The advantage of asynchronous motors is that they are lightweight, low cost, and are not limited by rare earth elements, so there will be no demagnetization. The advantages of synchronous motors are fast response, high power density and peak efficiency, which can effectively improve vehicle performance.
The models produced by volkswagen's MEB platform are basically rear-drive models, which is also different from the production platform of fuel models such as MQB. If it is equipped with a front asynchronous motor at the same time, it is a four-wheel drive model, and of course, it is not excluded that a front-drive micro-electric vehicle equipped with only a front asynchronous motor will be produced in the future. Therefore, the first advantage of the MEB platform is that it can quickly design front-drive, rear-drive and four-wheel drive models.
In addition to the motor, the MEB platform also has more advantages in batteries and electronic controls. Whether it is performance, safety, intelligence and environmental protection, there are many technical supports. Coupled with Volkswagen's mature factory system, it is also easy to achieve unmanned automatic production, and it can also be effectively guaranteed in terms of quality control.
The maturity of the MEB platform is the result of Volkswagen spending more than 4 years of research and development, so time is also one of the reasons why Volkswagen entered the new energy market late. In order to ensure quality and ensure that the factory is a boutique, traditional brands will choose to officially mass produce when all links are mature and foolproof. Similar to Tesla and other new power brands, big manufacturers are developing half of them, they will sell the car first, and then OTA if there is a problem. Traditional brands want to regain their share in the new energy market, and the most important thing is to find ways to grab time. In addition, in terms of marketing, intelligence, research and development speed, etc., there are also many gaps compared with new power brands.
02
The Q4 e-tron also has an Audi logo
There is no change between the new car declaration map exposed this time and the models unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show at the end of last year.
The enclosed front face is octagonally outlined by a silver border, matched with the decorative frame of the left and right fog light areas, and the closed middle mesh similar to the grille shape is also one of the symbols of the Audi e-tron series. The new matrix headlights seen at the Q4 e-tron of the Guangzhou Auto Show cannot be seen in the declaration chart.
Compared with the ID.4, the overall vehicle outline is basically the same, but the Audi Q4 e-tron is more old-fashioned, not like a new energy vehicle. Compared with Volkswagen's new energy model design language, Audi has not been separated from this octagonal central network. If Audi adopts bolder, more trendy sci-fi designs in terms of appearance, it may add more attention.
"FAW-Volkswagen Audi Q4 e-tron"
On the side of the body, the new car is different from the ID.4 in the body line, roof and wheel hub, and other aspects are generally the same, and the side ratio of the same short suspension long axle is also the advantage of the MEB pure electric platform. Due to the design language, the Q4 e-tron still uses the old-fashioned door handle, and does not have a semi-closed door handle like the ID.4. In addition, the body size of the new car is 4588/1865/1626mm, and the wheelbase is 2765mm, which is consistent with the ID.4, but in terms of length and height, it is not as good as ID.4.
In addition, from the perspective of the declaration information. The 40e-tron model will be available with 19- and 20-inch wheels, the 50e-tron model will be available with a choice of 20-inch and 21-inch wheels, and four wheel styles will also be available. The ID.4 also offers these three sizes, and the other tire data is the same, and it is expected that the design of the wheels is only different.
As for the tire brand, from the actual shooting of the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show, it is equipped with a special tire for electric vehicles of the horse brand; ID.4 is equipped with Goodyear tires, and the Q4 e-tron brand is higher.
In the rear part of the car, the car is clearly layered, and the LED light group adopts a three-dimensional three-dimensional through-channel shape, and the left and right sides are slightly raised, which fits the curve of the whole car. It is worth mentioning that the new car may provide multiple camera options, providing the possibility of achieving more assisted driving functions. Different styles are also available for the rear bumper, trim panel, and lower deflector, and it is expected that the corresponding styles will be available depending on the model.
The overall design is still constantly changing, and the layout of the taillights, even the rear wing and the high brake lights, are almost the same. Based on the above information, for the time being, from the appearance, it is not possible to see why Q4 e-torn is more expensive than ID.4. Maybe the Audi lamp factory has a light blessing?
03
The interior has a stronger sense of technology than ID.4
From the Q4 e-tron released at the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show site, the new family interior design has a rare personality on the Audi Q4 e-tron, although the overall style remains unchanged, but the instrument panel tilts to the driver's seat at a larger angle, the redesigned steering wheel is a bit of a concept car, and the control panel on the steering wheel is also the first time to use a touch element design, and the multi-function button has a high sense of unity when the backlight is extinguished. In addition, the two LCD screens are 10.25 inches in full LCD meters and 11.6 inches in the central control large screen, and the functions have also been improved, including voice control systems, new augmented reality head-up displays, etc. to create a new digital Audi virtual cockpit.
The Interior of the Volkswagen ID.4 adopts a minimalist family design similar to that of the ID.3, although it has undergone great changes compared to Volkswagen's traditional fuel vehicles, and it is more in line with the attributes of pure electric vehicles, but it is more mediocre compared to the Q4 e-tron. In contrast, the Q4 e-tron is more advanced and refined than the ID.4 in terms of design and materials. However, whether the final mass production will maintain the status quo is still to be known after the official release or listing.
"Lan Tu FREE Pure Electric Edition Interior Drawing"
Although it is better than ID.4, it is still a bit pulled down compared with the new energy SUV at the same price, such as the 10.25-inch LCD dashboard and the 11.6-inch central control screen. Taking the 33.36-36.36 million yuan OF LANDU FREE pure electric version as an example, the first one-piece liftable triple screen spanning the entire center console can be said to be hanging Q4 e-tron in a sense, not to mention the body size and other specifications. Although in terms of brand power, quality control and even industrial level, Lantu is certainly far inferior to Audi, but as a consumer, more attention is paid to the product itself. So Audi wants to win back a set with the Q4 e-tron, maybe not enough. Although the Audi Q4 e-tron family is indeed a new step, it is only a "step" on the whole.
04
Maybe competitiveness is still not enough
Audi: "The most promising mid-size pure electric SUV to open up the Chinese market"
When the car runs, the core is still the power aspect. No matter how good the interior and the materials are advanced, if they don't reach the normal level of this price point, they really shouldn't be.
In terms of power system, from the declaration information, for the time being, we have seen two power configurations, namely 40 e-tron and 50 e-tron quattro. Among them, the 50 e-tron quattro uses the aforementioned front asynchronous motor and rear synchronous motor, the maximum power of the front and rear motors is 80kW (109Ps) and 150kW (204Ps), and the peak torque of the front/rear is 162/310N·m; while the 40 e-tron is a rear-drive layout, equipped with a synchronous motor with a maximum power of 150kW (204PS), with a peak torque of 310N·m. In the battery system part, the new car will be equipped with a ternary lithium battery pack, although the specific mileage has not yet been announced, but the mileage of the reference ID.4 is 550km (NEDC working conditions), equipped with 85kW·h Catharine era ternary lithium battery.
"ID.4 Rear wheel with drum brake"
"Q4 e-tron retains the rear drum brake of ID.4"
In addition to the power data, the rear wheel drum brake, which was criticized by many netizens in ID.4, was also retained on the Q4 e-tron. In the previous era of fuel vehicles, Audi was said to be a Volkswagen hull, perhaps different in engine tuning and chassis tuning. But this Q4 e-tron model really can not argue, the entire chassis suspension material and Volkswagen ID.4 part-time exactly the same, the same cast iron suspension like the rear drum brake, Audi's wave of operations, there is indeed a suspicion of "cutting leeks".
Taking the overseas Q4 e-tron with a starting price of 380,000 yuan as an example, compared with the four-wheel drive model at the same price and ID.4, the biggest shortcoming of the Q4 e-tron is first of all power, followed by the mileage, and it is not a top-notch one. Take out the data to compare, in fact, you will choose which one is actually clear at a glance.
However, Volkswagen Group's pure electric vehicles also have a very interesting identification point, that is, no matter which product of the ID system, it looks more like a fuel vehicle, I believe this is also a major selling point for Volkswagen to impress consumers. Taking the Audi A3 and Volkswagen Golf as an example, although the A3 is more expensive, it also has a better sense of control and chassis texture than golf. If the Audi Q4 e-tron is pre-priced at about 350,000, which is more expensive than the ID.4, it is very likely to be reflected in the chassis tuning. But this is also based on the speculation of the fuel car, after all, I still hope that the Q4 e-tron is a good car, not a leek-cutting car.
05
summary
To succeed, you must cater to the Chinese market
Catering to the Chinese market, in fact, look at other brands to get the answer. The ideal big, Weilai's intelligence, Tesla's assisted driving, and even zero-run, Nezha's cost-effective, are all products they develop to cater to the preferences of Chinese consumers, and they can find at least one point that can impress the Chinese people. And the Audi Q4 e-tron, perhaps only the standard of tetracycline is left.
How long can this old ben be eaten?