The Audi e-tron is an electric SUV for sport, family and leisure. Its 4,901 millimeters length, 1,935 millimeters width and 1,616 millimeters height offer the spaciousness and comfort of one of the brand’s typical full-size models. With a wheelbase of 2,928 millimeters, the Audi e-tron has ample space for five occupants along with their bags. The total luggage capacity is 660 liters, equipping the electric SUV for major tours.

Efficiency, performance and quiet tranquility – the Audi e-tron exemplifies the driving experience of a new era. Two electric motors drive the electric SUV powerfully, free of emissions, and almost silently, with a system output of up to 300 kW and 664 Nm of torque. The maximum drive torque is present within fractions of a second and provides enormous torque. The Audi e-tron completes the standard sprint in 5.7 seconds. Top speed is an electronically-limited 200 km/h.


A new quattro generation – the electric all-wheel drive – provides for superlative traction and handling on any terrain and in any weather conditions. It continuously and fully variably regulates the ideal distribution of drive torques between the two axles – within a fraction of a second. In most cases, the electric SUV mainly uses its rear electric motor in order to achieve the highest efficiency. If the driver demands more power than it can supply, the electric all-wheel drive redistributes torque as required to the front axle. This also happens predictively even before slip occurs when cornering fast, or if the car understeers or oversteers. The dynamic talents of the Audi e-tron are especially apparent at low coefficients of friction. A key factor for the sporty character and outstanding transverse dynamics is the low and central position at which the drive components are installed. The battery system is optimally matched to the dimensions of the Audi e-tron and is located between the axles in the form of a flat, broad block beneath the passenger compartment. That makes the Audi e-tron’s center of gravity similar to that of a sedan. Axle load distribution is perfectly balanced at almost 50:50.


With Audi drive select, the driver can vary the characteristics of the Audi e-tron between seven profiles depending on the driving situation, road conditions or personal preferences. The system also influences the standard air suspension with adaptive dampers. As a result, there is a vast difference between smooth rolling comfort and sporty, stable handling. The pneumatic springs adjust individually to the road conditions depending on the speed and the driver’s preferences, varying the ride height by as much as 76 millimeters. Especially on long journeys, a lower ride height improves aerodynamics, thus increasing the range.

The Audi e-tron can cover more than 400 kilometers on a single charge in the WLTP test cycle. This value is due primarily to the innovative recuperation system, which is responsible for up to 30 percent of the range. The electric SUV can recover energy in two ways: by means of coasting recuperation when the driver releases the accelerator, or by means of braking recuperation when the brake pedal is depressed. In both cases, the electric motors function as a generator and convert the kinetic energy of the Audi e-tron into electric energy. At up to 0.3 g of deceleration, the electric SUV recuperates solely via the electric motors. This is the case well over 90 percent of the time. The wheel brakes are involved only when the driver decelerates by more than 0.3 g using the brake pedal. They respond extremely quickly, thanks to a new electrohydraulic actuation concept. Audi is the first manufacturer worldwide to use this concept in a series production vehicle with electric drive. When braking from 100 km/h, for example, the Audi e-tron can recuperate electric power with a maximum of 300 Nm and 220 kW. That corresponds to more than 70 percent of its operating energy input. No other series production model can achieve such a value. Depending on the driving situation, the electrohydraulically integrated brake control system decides whether the SUV will use the electric motor, the wheel brake or a combination of the two acting on each axle individually for recuperation. The transition between electric and hydraulic braking is smooth and homogeneous, so the driver does not even notice it. Brake forces remain constant.


Another key factor for the high efficiency of the Audi e-tron is the sophisticated aerodynamics. One highlight of this concept are the optional virtual exterior mirrors – a worldwide first in a series production model. Integrated into each of the mirror supports is a small camera, whose images are displayed on high-contrast OLED displays inside the vehicle. Other aerodynamic solutions fulfill their purpose hidden away from sight, such as the air suspension and the fully lined underbody with the aluminum plate to protect the high-voltage battery. These reduce drag, as does the adjustable cooling air intake. It includes channels for cooling the front brakes and serves as a switching point for the complex thermal management system with the standard heat pump. Benefits of the thermal management system include unwavering high performance even under high load, long battery life and fast DC recharging. When equipped with the virtual exterior mirrors, the Audi e-tron achieves a Cd value of 0.27, which is a top result in the SUV segment. With a typical use profile, that drag coefficient provides for a range advantage of approximately 35 kilometers per battery charge versus a comparable, conventionally powered vehicle.

The large high-voltage battery in the Audi e-tron can store up to 95 kWh of energy and is thus the foundation for the long range. There is generally no need to stop at charging stations during every day driving. Audi offers various solutions for charging at home. The standard mobile charging system can be used with either a 230 volt household outlet or a 400 volt three-phase outlet. In Europe for long trips, such as when going on vacation, customers can use fast charging stations to charge with direct current (DC) at up to 150 kW – a first for series-production automobiles. This means that the Audi e-tron is all set for the next long-distance stretch of a journey in approximately half an hour. The electric SUV can also be recharged with alternating current (AC) at up to 11kW; recharging with 22kW is available as an option. A proprietary Audi charging service provides e-tron customers with easy access to roughly 80percent of the public charging stations in Europe. Whether it’s AC or DC, 11kW or 150kW – a single card is all customers need to start the process. The procedure will become even more convenient with the function Plug & Charge, which will follow in 2019: The car self-authorizes at the charging station and activates it.

The Audi e-tron reflects the fundamental formal idiom of Audi design – translated into the electric age by new, stylistically defining details. Typically for one of the brand’s SUV models, the Audi e-tron bears the octagonal-design Singleframe grille with vertical struts. Its corpus is largely enclosed and presented in platinum gray – identifying it as a fully electric model. At the lower edge of the Matrix LED headlights, four horizontal struts create the e-tron-specific signature in the daytime running lights. For the first time this is integrated directly into the headlights. The expressive design of the sill area with the black inserts visualizes the location of the battery and thus the energy center of the Audi e-tron. At the rear, slats in the wide diffuser call attention to the omission of exhaust pipes. The e-tron logo on the charging flap stand out in the high-voltage signal color orange. Colorful accents such as these are also available for the spacious, airy interior, whose design embodies performance, intelligence and lightness. The large arc, into which the optional virtual exterior mirrors are harmoniously integrated, stretches across the expansive instrument panel to the sculpted door trims, taking in-car digitization to a whole new level. The center tunnel console rests on open sidewalls. Seeming to float above it is the hand rest with integrated shifter, which the driver operates with thumb and forefinger. Lightness and performance are fused into one. The entire driver’s area has a driver bias, and the two large MMI touch response displays are angled in the driver’s direction. They replace nearly every conventional switch and control. With the standard Audi virtual cockpit, the driver can choose between two views that clearly present all information in the form of sharp, high-resolution graphics. The comprehensive comfort features paired with high-quality materials and fine workmanship make electric mobility a premium experience.

In the German market, the Audi e-tron comes standard with the high-end media center MMI navigation plus, including LTE Advanced and Wi-Fi hotspot. The navigation system makes intelligent destination suggestions based on previous routes, ideally supplemented by the e-tron route planner. This displays the suitable route with the required charging points. The navigation system considers not only the battery’s charge but also the traffic situation and includes the required charging time in its arrival time calculation. Numerous assist systems make the drive even more relaxing, including the standard efficiency assist. With predictive tips in the Audi virtual cockpit and automatic recuperation, it helps the driver to drive economically. The system uses radar sensors, camera images, navigation data and Car-to-X information to detect the traffic environment and the route. In combination with the adaptive cruise assist, the efficiency assist can also brake and accelerate the electric SUV predictively. Backing the assist systems is the central driver assistance controller, which continuously computes an exact model of the environment. The required data is obtained – depending on the selected options – from up to five radar sensors, six cameras, twelve ultrasound sensors and the laser scanner.

By 2025, AUDI AG’s portfolio will already include more than 30 models with electric drive, of which 20 will be all-electric. For the entry into the premium electric world, the company will by then have launched at least three models based on the modular electric-drive kit (MEB) for more compact vehicles. The first models on the PPE architecture will be available in the upper segments at the beginning of the next decade. Audi has raised its forecast for sales of all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids, and now expects electrified automobiles to account for about 40 percent of worldwide unit sales by 2025. As part of the Volkswagen Group’s consistent focus on electric mobility, the Four Rings are developing their drive-system portfolio in strict alignment with the specific requirement profiles of premium customers. The brand is already looking further to the future and is pressing ahead with the development of fuel-cell drive for the Volkswagen Group. With its company-wide sustainability roadmap, Audi has set itself the goal of successively making the entire vehicle lifecycle CO2-neutral: from production to the use and recycling of Audi models. By consistently reducing CO2 emissions and switching to renewable energy sources, unavoidable emissions will be offset. With company-wide decarbonization, the CO2 footprint of the vehicle fleet is to be reduced as a first step by 30 percent by 2025 compared with 2015. To this end, the company is pushing forward with the implementation of its own target of making all Audi production locations worldwide CO2-neutral by 2025. Audi intends to achieve CO2-neutrality for the entire company by 2050 at the latest.


“At Audi, the Audi e-tron represents the new era of electrification, September last year was the E-SUV world premiere in San Francisco, and in January the company demonstrated with a fleet of 50 Audi e-tron the practical capabilities of the E-SUV in the Swiss mountains at the World Economic Forum in Davos “said Audi CEO Bram Schot.

To showcase fully Electric Vehicle already available as CBU, Audi is now bringing the first Audi e-tron to Vietnam. As Vietnam’s middle-class is rising, so does transportation. Urbanization and noise pollution keep increasing, air quality keeps deteriorating while climate warming worsens. Fully Electric Vehicles are a strategic solution immediately available to develop mobility in environmentally-friendly cities. However electric vehicles involve a complete chain of suppliers and services from power supply and distribution, charging stations and interfaces, and batteries including charging, recycling and disposal. Because electricity is a public commodity it has wide ranging impact on people’s life. Like for solar and wind power generation or electricity prices management, public policy is instrumental in a successful transition to sustainable mobility.


Because electric vehicles are more expensive to produce than petrol or Diesel-powered vehicles, only tax incentives will determine viability and development. Import tax, special consumption tax, registration tax should all support the high starting cost of that new technology here. Advance preparation and planning are crucial in building an effective public charging infrastructure in Vietnam to bring access to mobility on a par with that enjoyed by conventional technologies. Standard designs and guidelines for EV charging signs and parking lots are necessary to create an effective EV adoption. EV-charging-ready, eco-friendly buildings should be identified and incentivised. Future car parks should be equipped with the appropriate power infrastructure to handle future demand and with enough power supply to cater for future generations of EVs.


“Now is the time for the Ministry Of Transport in Vietnam to involve all the manufacturers, importers and stakeholders interested in contributing to fair open discussions regarding this strategic topic for the country” declares Laurent Genet, General Director Audi Vietnam official Importer, who adds “Early 2019, the Ministry Of Finance consulted car companies on tax incentives for Electric Vehicle components for local assembly but fully electric vehicles imported CBU like the Audi e-tron should benefit from strong tax incentive to support sustainable mobility in mega cities developing fast in Vietnam now”.



In ASEAN, the Audi e-tron was unveiled for the first time in Singapore at the Audi Brand Experience in October 2018. Audi Vietnam is now bringing the first Audi e-tron to Vietnam to show that Battery Electric Vehicles are ready. Now is the time to move and get together towards green building, integrated urban systems for sustainable and smart city planning. The Audi e-tron is on now on display at Audi Ho Chi Minh City and will go to Audi Hanoi and Audi Danang for Vietnamese car lovers to discover. For the general public, the Audi e-tron will be displayed at Vietnam Motor Show 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City in October. The Audi e-tron is being built in the CO2-neutral plant in Brussels and already arrived in European dealerships in early 2019.



„“Audi is the first premium brand showcasing in Vietnam a fully Electric Vehicle – the Audi e-tron – already commercially available in Europe, thus pending supportive taxes and policies from Vietnam Authorities, we will make it available to Vietnamese customers.“ concludes Tran Tan Trung, Audi Vietnam official Dealer General Director.

Although not yet available for customers to buy in Vietnam, the Audi e-tron has already received the thumbs up from the international press. The Audi e-tron's blend of technology and practicality is winning plenty of friends amongst the international press as it’s rolled out around the world. As more journalists get to drive the vehicle in real world conditions, the blend of technology and practicality has struck a chord with a group that is notoriously hard to please. Indeed, the e-tron continues to impress the motoring writers in what is an emerging yet fiercely competitive automotive segment –and one with far reaching implications on future mobility.


Creating electric vehicles that can deliver on expectations in the real world is no small challenge for vehicle manufacturers and approaches and technology varies greatly. Far from being a trend, e-mobility is here to stay, but only for those who can truly make it work for both the customer and the environment. In other words, it’s important to ‘get it right’ from the outset and the overwhelming majority of reports give the Audi e-tron the thumbs up.


Of course there is no shortage of online publications and blogs all expressing an opinion on a whole range of things, so to get at what the experts think, it’s important to go straight to the respected sources.


Take Road & Track for example, where Máté Petrány said in his first drive feature:


“The 2019 Audi e-tron makes switching to electric a no-brainer. Audi's electric offensive starts with an impressive car offering utility, super-fast charging, and the smoothest possible driving experience.”


“The e-tron is a well-rounded luxury SUV that barely shows off its electric nature.”


Ian Kuah had a similar experience when he sampled the e-tron in Abu Dhabi, taking in highway driving at speed as well as getting off the road altogether and out into the sand. Writing for CARBUZZ, he approached the first drive with an appropriate amount of scepticism but seemed to emerge from the experience suitably impressed that the e-tron was on the money.


“After the buildup of anticipation created by the various events this year that revealed the Audi e-tron’s design and technology, there was always a chance that the actual driving experience might be an anti-climax.


“But this is Audi we are talking about, and the e-tron exudes every hallmark of the world-class design and build that we have come to expect from the marque with the four rings.”


"The 2019 Audi e-tron makes switching to electric a no-brainer"


In many ways, the e-tron is just like any other Audi, inside and out – but that’s what makes it exciting


Kuah, a self-confessed sceptic where electric vehicles are concerned, also conceded:


“… The e-tron felt so well sorted it even managed to convince this sceptic just how well rounded and mature an EV can be even at this relatively early stage of the electro-mobility game.”


Sampled in everyday driving and on the B-roads of Yorkshire, Curtis Moldrich of Car Magazine likewise found that driving the e-tron represented a a very real taste of the future of automobiles, as opposed to a novelty:


“In many ways, the e-tron is just like any other Audi, inside and out – but that’s what makes it exciting. It’s an SUV you can imagine slotting easily into your everyday life, with more charging options, and packages easing you over the ever-shrinking hurdles of EV ownership.”


Indeed that sentiment that it was important to judge the e-tron against other cars in general and not just against other EVs came through loud and clear. The majority felt that it was important that an electric vehicle be a practical and working consideration that people will embrace.


On those grounds, Eric Adams over at Gear Patrol out of the US was likewise impressed, calling the e-tron ‘a great car’ and praising its driving dynamics regardless of whether he was looking to drive conservatively or just put his foot down.


“The e-tron is a silky-smooth and almost disconcertingly quiet family hauler, always ready for a quick bit of acceleration and eager to help you maximise your driving efficiency as you instinctively stretch out the battery. Or ignore that instinct, as I did, and just thunder down the road as fast as you please. I had a hard time detecting any range penalties based on driving style, and that’s to the car’s credit, as well as its engineering."


“Audi managed to use electric propulsion as a starting point for luxury, not a free pass. It tightened up the chassis, the road noise and the construction to ensure that this would be a serene driving experience, and they succeeded. The fact that it’s also a practical and usable car, as well as fun and quick, is simply gravy.”


“So for a few months you can have a taste of what to expect from a premium fully electric vehicle when the conditions make it possible for Audi’s first all-all-electric model to makes its debut in Vietnam.” concludes Laurent Genet, Audi Vietnam Official Importer General Director.



The Audi e-tron will be on display at Audi Ho Chi Minh City from June to July, at Audi Danang in August, at Audi Hanoi from September to October and at Vietnam Motor Show 2019 in October 2019.