northern exposure

It’s called the Audi Q6 e-tron and it’s the first electric Audi to be built on the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) technology platform. With an 800-volt electrical system, innovative battery and charging management systems and a newly developed electronics architecture, the production-oriented Q6 e-tron prototype marks the next major step in the electrification and digitalisation of Audi’s model range and is the next step in what will be the biggest product offensive in the company’s history.

Close to production ready, the latest in the Audi e-tron family has been put through its paces in the frozen arctic at the vehicle proving grounds used by Audi to ensure optimal performance in the most extreme of conditions.

Following the new vehicle designation system, the Q6 e-tron will slip into the range between the Audi Q8 e-tron and Audi Q4 e-tron models and will be produced in both SUV and Sportback configurations at Audi’s Ingolstadt headquarters. To facilitate this, the Ingolstadt plant is undergoing significant modification to see in the expansion of the brand’s electric capabilities at headquarters.

This will include the up-skilling of employees at the the Ingolstadt site as well as the introduction of an in-house battery assembly facility – essential to the rapidly expanding plans to increase the number of new electric models being introduced to the range in the coming years.

The brand’s plans to expand its electric range is well known and well underway, with more than 20 new models set to be introduced by 2025 – more than 10 of which will be electric. These ambitious plans and the infrastructure and planning required to carry them out sustainably have been carefully considered and executed by the brand, putting Audi in an excellent position for the future, according to Audi CEO Markus Duesmann. 

“We are on the verge of the biggest product initiative in our history,” Mr Duesmann told the recent Annual Media Conference. 

“By 2027, we seek to offer an all-electric vehicle in each core segment. We recently decided to launch an additional electric entry-level model below the Audi Q4 e-tron as well.”

But with the plans to significantly increase the brand’s electric offering came the acknowledgment that sustainability and environmental concerns played a major role at every stage of the production process. 

“We are acutely aware of our responsibility in dealing with resources. That’s why the circular economy plays such an important role for us,” he said.

“In the future, we will recycle secondary materials from end-of-life vehicles back into the production of our cars. As part of our MaterialLoop pilot project, we are working with suppliers, recycling companies and academic partners to upskill in this area.”

“Demand for e-mobility remains high. In January and February 2023, our sales of all-electric vehicles worldwide were up almost 40 percent compared to the same months last year. February also marked the launch of the Q8 e-tron in most European countries (due in Australia later this year) … and with 20,000 pre-orders on the books, demand for sustainable electric mobility is booming.”