Perhaps the announcement by Harley Davidson about its very-first all-electric bike, the LiveWire, was just the beginning . It appears Audi is determined to take on the likes of Tesla in the futuristic Electric Vehicles (EV) segment.
Though there are many EV makers, few can claim to protect the environment while offering the thrill of a sports car as well as the comfort of a posh interior. Tesla Motors has so far dominated the electric luxury car market, but new reports are surfacing that clearly indicate Audi has now decided it won’t sit on the sidelines and let companies like these corner the luxury and premium EV market.
The Audi E8 e-tron that the company appears to be quietly working on is just one of the many other vehicles that Audi will unleash in the foreseeable future. It seems Audi has found the right time to announce its EV lineup. Audi is planning an entire lineup of high-performance electric cars and SUVs following Tesla’s success with battery technology and the buzz BMW has generated with the i3 and i8, reported Driving .
Incidentally, the E8 e-tron isn’t a new dream of the company. The Audi E8 e-tron was developed over 2 years ago, but at the time the company decided against exploring the commercial future of the EV. Despite the fact that the E8 was built for the future, the car’s real-world specifications were perceptibly lacking. Owing to the then prevalent battery technology, Audi wasn’t able to push the mileage of the E8 e-tron beyond 215 kilometers (155 miles) on full-charge.
But battery technology has since progressed by leaps and bounds. Not only has the ability of the battery to hold higher charge enhanced, but the batteries have become quite rugged and can easily withstand the rigors of everyday use. With new batteries under the hood of the E8 e-tron, the revamped vehicle can easily go beyond 450 kilometers (280 miles) even on a slightly-less-than-full charge. This double-than-original mileage is quite close to Tesla iconic Model S. Armed with these new batteries and Audi’s exceptional workmanship, the new Audi E8 e-tron could be introduced to the eco-conscious European markets as early as next year, reported Gulf Times .
But Audi isn’t just content with launching a luxury EV. The company has already thought well into the future, where modular construction will be the basis of car design. Utilizing Volkswagen’s MLB (Modularer Längsbaukasten or Modular Longitudinal Matrix) platform, Audi has envisioned a whole line-up of its luxury and performance vehicles running on electric power.
[Image Credit | Audi]
