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ANOTHER week and another raft of announcements from the world’s car makers about new electric cars that will be coming to a showroom near you soon. This week it’s Audi, Toyota, Mercedes and even Ferrari talking about new battery-powered models. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hugely exciting (you probably already know I’m a bit of an electric car fan) and ultimately this is something that governments have said has to happen. Plus who doesn’t want to know what Ferrari is going to do with its first all-electric sports car? But it’s almost as though the death knell has already sounded for the internal combustion engine. In the UK we’re still the best part of nine years away from 2030, when you won’t be able to buy a new car that…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @jimmybrods • Electric SUV revealed in standard and Sportback guises • Range of up to 316 miles available, as is quattro four-wheel drive AUDI is the latest brand to enter the booming small electric SUV market with not one, but two new offerings. This is the Q4 e-tron, which is available as either a regular SUV or a coupé-SUV Sportback. On sale later this month, the range starts with the £40,750 Q4 e-tron 35, which uses a 52kWh battery. The battery powers an electric motor with 168bhp and 310Nm of torque that’s mounted on the rear axle. Audi claims that this model has 208 miles of range and can accelerate from 0-62mph in 9.0 seconds, while it has an electronically limited top speed of 99mph. The e-tron 40 is…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk • Electric exec arrives in 2023 • Avant estate also on the cards THIS is the Audi A6 e-tron concept, which has made its world debut at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show. It previews an all-electric model that will join the A6 family in 2023 and is based on Audi’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture. It’s the first Audi we’ve seen on PPE. At 4.96m long, 1.96m wide and 1.44m tall, the A6 e-tron sits at the heart of the executive saloon class. For reference, the current A6 is 4.94m long, 1.87m wide and 1.46m tall. The PPE platform features five-link front suspension and a multi-link rear axle, while the concept uses adaptive air suspension. The production car will be part of the A6 family, but it’s thought that…

Steve_Fowler@autovia.co.uk @stevefowler AUDI’S aim is clear: “We want to beat Tesla,” CEO Markus Duesmann told us recently. “We have decided to bring Audi technology-wise into the lead.” That starts with an internal restructure at Audi. “We’re changing the organisation of the R&D division,” Duesmann said. “The set-up is that the product lines are sorted by electric system – the different generations of electric structure. So cars are not divided by size, they’re divided by electronic structure.” Audi’s tech will benefit more than just its own top models, too. “We will use the technology for all cars from Volkswagen [Group] in stripped-down versions in different segments,” said Duesmann. The obsession with beating Tesla means fewer internal combustion-engined cars, though. “Seeing as we have many synergies within the VW Group, maybe that…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy • SUV is first of seven ‘bZ’ EVs • bZ4X will rival VW’s ID.4 TOYOTA was quick on the draw with hybrids, but the Japanese company has been relatively slow to introduce pure-electric models to its line-up. Now it’s getting serious with EVs, though, and it all starts with this car, the bZ4X. Previewed here in concept form, this SUV is the first of seven bZ EVs that will appear between now and 2025 as part of a 15-model all-electric push by Toyota. The car sits on e-TNGA, the fully electric version of the company’s modular platform, and it has been developed in conjunction with Subaru, which is said to have had input into the car’s four-wheel-drive system. Toyota has declined to provide any dimensions for the bZ4X…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk • Seven-seat SUV on the way • Hybrid tech from Qashqai NISSAN has unveiled its new X-Trail SUV at the Shanghai Motor Show, and it’s set to go on sale in Europe next year using similar tech to the Qashqai family SUV. The brand has also confirmed the fourth-generation seven-seat X-Trail will be sold in the UK with the e-Power hybrid powertrain from launch, because it uses the new CMF-C platform that underpins the latest Qashqai. E-Power uses a variable compression ratio 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that charges a compact battery, which supplies an electric motor for a total of 184bhp and 330Nm of torque. This allows the combustion engine to run at its optimum level for efficiency, lowering emissions and improving fuel consumption, while also bringing EV benefits,…