Audi Q8 e-tron
The Audi Q8 e-tron is a battery electric mid-size luxury crossover produced by Audi since 2019. The e-tron was unveiled as a concept car at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. The final production version was revealed in San Francisco on 17 September 2018, publicly debuted at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, and was first delivered in May 2019. It is the company's first battery electric mass production car. The Sportback variant, a coupe style of the e-tron, entered production in 2020.
In 2022, the vehicle was facelifted and also renamed as the Audi Q8 e-tron, in both regular and Sportback body styles, as Audi is expanding the e-tron battery electric vehicle line-up.
In October 2024, Audi announced that by February 2025 the production of the Audi Q8 e-tron would come to an end.
History
The Audi e-tron is based on the e-tron quattro concept that was unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. It has an EPA range of, or in the updated model. The Sportback variant has of EPA range, entered production in early 2020. The facelifted model revealed in 2022, known as the Q8 e-tron, offers of EPA range while the facelifted Sportback has an EPA range of or depending on the exact variant.In 2018, it was reported that the car's certification in Germany by the KBA was not obtained until required changes were made to the car's software. In January 2019, United States market deliveries were due to commence in June.
The first customer in Germany received his e-tron in March 2019. In late April 2019 it was reported that prospective customers faced waiting lists of 6–7 months. The delays caused controversy in Norway, where customers were informed that their cars would be delivered up to 6 months later than originally promised unless they paid extra for a significantly more expensive "Fast Track" car. Further to this, some customers were also informed that were they to cancel their reservation they would be liable for a fine equal to 8% of the purchase price.
In Norway, the e-tron was the best-selling car or truck of any kind in October 2019. In November 2019, it ranked #3. It was also the best-selling car or truck of any kind in Norway in the year 2020, outselling the Tesla Model 3.
In the Netherlands, the e-tron was the #2 most registered car of any kind in December 2019.
In 2020, the New Zealand government started purchasing e-trons as official government cars.
Audi paused production of the e-tron in February 2020 due to supply chain problems including issues with adequate supply of batteries for the e-tron. Production resumed in early May.
In 2022, Audi announced that the facelifted e-tron will be renamed to Audi Q8 e-tron, which was revealed at 9 November 2022.
Specifications
The Audi Q8 e-tron is powered by a 114 kWh battery, of which 106 kWh is usable. This is true for the 55 e-tron variant and the performance SQ8 e-tron variant, while the 50 e-tron variant has a smaller battery.Previously, the Audi e-tron was powered by a 95 kWh battery pack, of which 86.5 kWh was usable. It can be charged from zero to 80% in around 30 minutes using 150 kW DC fast-chargers. For home charging in the EU, a standard 11 kW charger recharges the pack in 8.5 hours, while an optional 22 kW charger halves this time. In the US, a 40A 9.6 kW J1772 charger is supplied by Audi, but 11 kW can still be achieved using a 3rd party 48+ amp J1772 charger. A thermal management system keeps the battery between 23 and 35 degrees Celsius, and battery modules can be replaced.
The quattro electric all-wheel drive uses two electric motors, one mounted in the front and one in the rear. In the "boost mode," the two motors provide a total system output of and of torque enabling the car to accelerate from in 5.7 seconds. When not in the boost mode, the combined peak motor power is, with from the front motor at a torque of and from the rear motor at a torque of. This allows the car to accelerate from in 6.6 seconds and on to its top speed of.
The car uses an energy recuperation system that, on average, contributes 30% to the range. Recuperation can be achieved both when the driver releases the accelerator and when applying pressure to the brake pedal.
When equipped with the virtual side mirrors the car has a drag coefficient of 0.27. The e-tron also sits slightly lower than a traditional SUV; at high, it is lower than the Audi Q5. It has of boot space, more than the Mercedes-Benz EQC, along with of storage space in the front.
Cold-weather performance
In temperatures ranging from, with cabin heating on, the e-tron achieved a real-world range of, compared to in the spring/summer, which means a 10.5% range drop. The tests were done at the speed of.The real winter range drop might be slightly higher, because in the aforementioned tests the "winter" car had the advantage of more aerodynamic wheels than the "summer" car.
This stands well in comparison to other EVs. Five other electric vehicles, including the 2017 Tesla Model S 75D, were tested at the temperature of with cabin heating on, and all of them had a range drop of at least 30%, and 41% on average.
The e-tron is, in summer driving, less efficient than the Tesla Model X in terms of distance covered per kWh of energy. The e-tron is less affected by low temperatures, however, so driving in the winter brings the results of these two vehicles closer. In a test done at temperatures in the range and including high-speed highway driving, the e-tron's efficiency was about 12.4% worse than in the Model X. In slightly below-freezing conditions, the difference was smaller and the e-tron's efficiency was only about 8.6% worse than in the Model X.
Charging
The e-tron was able to charge at an effective rate of 150 kW using a 175 kW charger. This was possible in a wide state-of-charge window, until the battery was about 80% charged. With such a charger, adding of range takes only 10 minutes. Audi of America is more cautious with their estimates, saying that of range can be added in 10 minutes when using a 150 kW charger.At 90%, charging rate is about 82 kW and it remains above 50 kW until reaching 100%.
Using a 50 kW charger, the car can be charged at a constant rate of 50 kW, up until reaching 100%.
In 2022, with the introduction of a larger battery, the charging speed was increased to 170 kW.
Equipment
Standard equipment for the e-tron includes 12-way heated and ventilated front seats, a panoramic moonroof, and 20-inch wheels. Upgrades include massage seats, power door closers, leather upholstery, 21-inch wheels and orange brake calipers. The interior is in line with other Audi models with a 10.1-inch infotainment screen, a smaller 8.6-inch touchscreen display, Amazon Alexa voice control, Virtual Cockpit system, and an optional head up display. Other equipments include a Bang & Olufsen sound system, and an available Driver Assistance package with enhanced adaptive cruise control, automatic parking assist and night vision. The e-tron is the second production car to offer optional virtual side mirrors, which replaces the traditional side-view mirrors and instead use cameras transmitting images to a high-contrast 7-inch OLED embedded in the door panels.Sportback
In addition to the conventional SUV body style, Audi released a 'Sportback' version with a sloping rear part of the roof, similar to the BMW X6 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe. Audi decided to compete with these ICE-powered rivals by offering only a pure electric vehicle. It entered production in early 2020 and became available in Europe and in the US in 2020. Comparisons to the styling of the Audi A7 have also been made.The production version debuted at AutoMobility LA in Los Angeles in November 2019. The length and width are the same as in the standard model, while the height is lower. A drag coefficient is lower than in the standard model, while the powertrain and battery are the same as in the original model.
The 2020 e-tron Sportback has an EPA range of. It is better than in the 2019 e-tron conventional SUV, partially because a larger percentage of the battery capacity is usable. The e-tron's battery management system keeps part of the battery capacity as a buffer, which is not part of the usable capacity; now the size of that buffer is decreased to unlock more usable capacity. This change was introduced in the e-tron conventional SUV during the production run; while the Sportback already had these modifications when it first went on the market.
Cargo space measured by European standards is reduced from to. American sources, however, measure cargo space in a different way and indicate that the original e-tron has as much as of cargo space, so the reduction to is substantial.