First Batch Of Audi e-tron Electric SUV Range Nearly Sold Out: Balbir Singh Dhillon

The Audi e-tron all-electric SUV and the e-tron Sportback arrived in India last month, and the German auto giant has nearly sold out the first batch of the models. Audi India boss, Balbir Dhillon, confirmed the development to carandbike in an exclusive conversation. While the number of e-tron units allocated for India haven't been revealed, it's great to see the luxury car buyer warming up to electric mobility. The Audi e-tron arrived in India in three variants - e-tron 50, e-tron 55, and the e-tron Sportback 55. Prices for the Audi e-tron range start at Rs. 99.99 lakh (ex-showroom, India).

Also Read: Audi e-tron 55 Quattro Review

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Speaking about the strong response to the e-tron line-up, Balbir Dhillon said, "We took a bit of time but the time was not wasted. We've spent time from 2019 when we first brought in the first e-tron in the country to showcase and test the waters. We've been working on our strategy, we've been discussing with a lot of people what is that stops anybody from owning an electric car. We were trying to be in the shoes of our customers to understand what is the apprehension in each of the topics. Whether it is charging, servicing, resale value. So we tried to bring in peripheral topics to a logical conclusion for our customers for them to make a good choice and come forward. And I can tell you that I'm really amazed by the response we've got and the first lot of cars, we've almost reached a point where we can make an announcement saying that we've sold out."

Audi plans to bring more electric cars this year, along with petrol-powered vehicles

The response then bodes well for Audi India's future strategy of bringing more electric vehicles to the country. The company aims to have at least 15 per cent of its cumulative sales coming from EVs and a wider choice of options will help achieve the same. Audi India has a number of launches lined up in the next couple of months and the automaker did hint that some of its launches will be electric. The warm welcome to the e-tron should certainly be a confidence booster for the company.

The Audi e-tron comes to India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) and really showcases the company's future development when it comes to electric vehicles. The SUVs pack dollops of power. On the Audi e-tron 50, the SUV uses a 71 kWh battery pack paired with an electric motor that produces 308 bhp and 540 Nm of peak torque. The more powerful Audi e-tron 55 and e-tron Sportback 55 uses a 95 kWh battery pack with the two electric motors churning out a combined 402 bhp and 664 Nm of peak torque. The model claims a range of 359 km on the 50, going up to 484 km on the 55 trim, on a single charge.

Also Read: Audi e-tron Electric SUV Launched In India; Prices Start At ₹ 99.99 Lakh​

It's a tech fest inside. The e-tron gets the Audi virtual cockpit, ambient lighting, four-zone climate control, 360-degree camera, wireless charging, head-up display, eight airbags, and more. Audi will be offering a portable 11 kW compact charger with every car and a secondary wall box AC charger will be installed at the customer's home or office. Furthermore, the company will set up 50kW fast chargers at its select outlets pan India. The company has partnered with ABB for installation of the charging systems.