2005 Audi A6 3.2 Awd Quattro on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Audi unions demand to build EV, don't want to be left behind

They want an electric built at main plant in Germany.

Audi eyes factory-backed Formula E racecar for 2017/2018 season

Audi is going all-in into the world of electric vehicles, both on and off the race track. After announcing plans to create a Tesla-fighting all-electric car, the German automaker set its sights onto increasing its involvement in Formula E. Audi recently announced plans to further its involvement with the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport Formula E Team for the 2016 and 2017 season. In addition to furthering its involvement with the ABT Team, the automaker planned to introduce its own factory-backed car for the 2017 and 2018 season. The plan to enter Formula E, the first fully-electric racing series, reveals just how serious Audi is about electric cars. Audi to become involved in #FormulaE #LeagueofPerformance pic.twitter.com/AeJf534UnH — Audi Sport (@audisport) September 2, 2016 Last year, Audi announced that it wanted one out of every four vehicles in its lineup to have a plug by 2025. Entering Formula E would help Audi engineer electric components for its road-going vehicles. Audi's current involvement with the ABT Team is on a technical basis as the Formula E team narrowly missed out on titles in two seasons in the all-electric series. For the 2016/2017 season, Team ABT will benefit from technical and financial input from Audi, before the automaker unveils its own factory team. Audi will join other automakers like Jaguar, Mahindra, Renault, and Faraday Future on the grid in Formula E's fourth season. Jaguar recently entered the Formula E scene with a race car of its own for the third season of the all-electric series, which will start on October 9 in Hong Kong. Related Video: News Source: Formula EImage Credit: Daniel Abt / Twitter Green Motorsports Audi Electric Racing Vehicles Special and Limited Editions Performance Formula E abt

Will Audi surprise us with an all-electric SUV?

Audi may be looking to get seriously competitive in the electric vehicle market, according to a report from Reuters. The company has plans prepared for a range of EVs that would compete with the likes of BMW and Tesla. In a market where innovation is seen as valuable, getting on board with electrification could help Audi avoid appearing out of step with the rest of the crowd (and the market), with analysts predicting a sharp uptick in battery-powered cars in the next several years. Building on the E-Tron line, which already includes the A3 E-Tron, Audi will begin offering an electric version of its R8 supercar in Europe next year. According to two confidential sources at Audi, the company also has plans for high-performance electric sedans and SUVs. It appears as though Audi is taking direct aim at Tesla with alternatives to the current Model S and the upcoming Model X SUV. Advantage: Audi? Without getting into too many specifics about such plans, the sources did confirm the existence of blueprints for an Audi Q8 E-Tron. Audi has said that any future electric cars would have a target range of 400 kilometers (about 249 miles), but previous reports suggest that the Q8 E-Tron could have a range of about 370 miles. That could be a serious challenge for Tesla. Advantage: Audi? All the German automakers have electric tricks up their sleeves. BMW has its i line, with the i3 making headway and the i8 expected to sell well. Mercedes-Benz has gotten into the game the B-Class Electric Drive. Also, its parent company Daimler has a stake in Tesla. Now, Audi appears poised to launch its own diverse electric fleet, and the next move might just be an SUV. And while this added competition might seem like tough news for Tesla, the proliferation of EVs, and the growing infrastructure that goes along with it, is more likely a tide that raises all (electric) ships - something that Elon Musk seems to understand very well.