The second e-Tron model in Audi’s growing fleet of electric vehicles will be built at the brand’s Brussels factory, starting in 2019.
“With the decision on the Audi e-tron Sportback, we are showing that Audi takes the issue of electric mobility seriously,” said Dr. Hubert Waltl, head of logistics. “A second battery-electric model will lead to optimal capacity utilization at our plant in Brussels.”
The e-Tron Sportback will join the standard e-Tron in Audi’s EV lineup – an all-electric SUV set to start rolling out of the same factory in 2018.
First revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, the e-Tron Sportback is a sleek grand coupe with four doors. The concept arrived with 430 hp (or up to 500 hp in boost mode) and, naturally, all-wheel drive.
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With a low center of gravity, thanks to its low-mounted liquid cooled lithium-ion batteries and, the e-Tron Sportback concept was good for a 0-62 time of just 4.5 seconds. Along with the performance, Audi’s second EV was expected to go 310 miles on a charge.
The e-Tron (this is the SUV now), meanwhile, is being touted by Audi as the first real premium SUV powered exclusively by electricity, a claim that, along with a recent Berliner billboard, targets Tesla directly.
The e-Tron Sportback is the second of three electric cars Audi said it will produce by 2020.
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