Audi rides in 3 electric SUVs under e-tron range

German luxury carmaker Audi expects 15 per cent of its sales in India through electric vehicles by 2025, as the company kicked off its EV journey in the country with the launch of three all-electric SUVs under its e-tron range, a senior company official said on Thursday. The company, which launched the e-tron 50 and e-tron 55 along with e-tron Sportback, priced at Rs 99.99 lakh, Rs 1.16 crore and Rs 1.18 crore respectively (all prices ex-showroom), will bring more models out of the 20 electric cars that it plans to launch globally by 2025. "I firmly believe that electric is the future for sure, especially also on the luxury side... we have decided that our focus is definitely going to be electric cars. We want to achieve at least 15 per cent of our sales through electric cars by the year 2025," Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon told PTI.

In 2019, before the Coronavirus pandemic broke out, Audi had a total retail sales of 4,594 units in India. Last year it came down to 1,639 units. Globally, Audi had announced a five-year plan under which it would launch 30 electrified vehicles, which includes 20 pure EVs and 10 plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025. "Some of these models (of pure EVs) will also make it to the country. So, our focus is very clear, short term to long term," he added.

To begin its EV journey in India, Audi is offering three all-electric SUVs e-tron 50, e-tron 55 and e-tron Sportback 55. "We are launching not one, but three electric SUVs that begin our electrification journey. These are the perfect confluence of luxury, zero emissions, performance and everyday usability," he added. With the three offerings, Dhillon said, "we have a proposition for every type of EV customer in the small but growing luxury SUV space." Audi India is also offering several benefits and packages including after-sales, charging and ownership to ease the transition to electric mobility, he added.