Audi AG finally unveiled its much-awaited born-electric offering – the Q6 e-tron – at its headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany. The Q6 e-tron is the first offering from the VW Group to be built on the modular premium platform electric or PPE platform, heralding major technological advancements to its electric line-up.
Scheduled to arrive in India in mid-2025, the Q6 e-tron will sit below Audi’s present-day electric flagship, the Q8 e-tron, although it exceeds the Q8 e-tron on every conceivable metric.
What is the PPE platform?
The PPE platform is the second phase in the VW Group’s built-from-scratch, born-electric offensive, this time developed for luxury vehicles jointly by Audi and Porsche. It is the second pillar (1.2) of the VW group’s E3 (end-to-end electric) architecture.
While the first pillar, or 1.1, featured the MEB (modular electrification) platform, reserved for its volume cars like the Q4 e-tron and its cousin the ID.4, the 1.2 or PPE focuses exclusively on luxury cars from the VW Group stables (Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini).
The third pillar (2.0, as Audi calls it) will feature software-driven vehicles with far more advanced levels of ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) and vehicle-to-vehicle integration. Its deployment date, however, remains unknown.
According to Audi, the PPE platform is a comprehensive and dramatic departure from the existing Audi EVs, which, with the exception of the e-tron GT, are built on existing ICE (internal combustion engine) platforms.
The PPE, however, will pave the way forward, not only for Audi’s upcoming EV (the brand has 20 PPE-based models lined up for global unveils over two years) but also subsequent versions of its popular ICE-models like the Q5, Q3 and the A6.
The PPE platform essentially enables the Q6 e-tron to offer greater range, make more power, have greater software and ADAS capabilities, feature cloud computing, and AI-driven machine learning, among a host of features. It allows for new ways of engineering with a steering frame bolted directly to the car’s subframe, which would make the Q6 e-tron a lot more dynamic to drive.
At present, the Q6 e-tron is available in standard and SQ6 form, and will be available in AWD and later, a long-range RWD version. It’s unclear at the moment as to which model will be best suited for India, but the less expensive 83-odd kWh battery version is the most likely candidate, with an expected price around the Rs 80 lakh mark.
The Q6 also features an all-new OLED headlamp display with a variety of animations and signatures.
New battery module
So different is the new battery that Audi AG has set up two manufacturing plants (in Ingolstadt and in Brussels). With three separate assembly lines that are automated to 90 percent, the battery structure will underpin all upcoming Audi and Porsche EVs in the foreseeable future.
Compared to the Q8 e-tron’s 36 modules, the PPE-based battery features only 12 modules, with each cell module now larger, stacked with prismatic cells in 15 cylindrical pouches sourced via battery supplier CATL. The battery packs are, however, built by Audi, subjecting each pack to a series of stress tests and adding layers of thermal insulation that would reduce energy loss in extreme temperatures.
The new battery pack, with sizes ranging from 83 kWh to 100 kWh, makes 66 percent more torque than a similarly sized battery in the Q8 e-tron, while also having greater fast charging capabilities. Capable of taking in 270 kW of DC charge, the Q6 e-tron can charge from 10-to-80 percent in a mere 21 minutes.
At present, India features only a handful of DC fast-chargers, with capacity going as high as 150kW.
New interiors
As other German rivals surged ahead with pillar-to-pillar touchscreen displays, interior design had become something of a setback for Audi AG. The Q6, however, debuts an all-new interior design, complete with a dual-screen panel with a 14.5-inch infotainment display and an 11.9-inch driver display fused together to form one long, slender silicone slab.
Accompanying it for the first time is a 10.9-inch front passenger display (whose contents are invisible to the driver’s eye). The cockpit is now driver-oriented with various trims featuring everything from PET-bottle derived materials (a la Hyundai Ioniq) and an organic, almost Scandinavian wooden trim (Scandinavian markets have the highest EV adoption rate in Europe and remain one of the top markets to crack for Audi).
The Q6 has an augmented heads-up display unit that will feature dynamic projections from the car’s immediate environment in real time. In addition, it’s the first Audi to feature proper regenerative braking with a single pedal driving mode regen modulation via paddle shifters and an automatic mode allowing the AI to control regen based on your driving inputs.
The Q6 e-tron will also have video-streaming capabilities.
AI-powered assistant and more
The PPE platform will serve as the new frontier on which Audi’s digital citadel is built. Presently using an Android-based system, it comes with its own app suite (featuring 70 native apps) and will come with an AI-powered “Audi Assistant” that will adapt to your speech pattern.
While at present, it will only feature Level 2 ADAS, the car comes with over 30 safety and driver assist features.
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