- Audi Q5 e-tron debuts in single- and dual-motor versions, offering up to 348 miles of range in the NEDC cycle.
- The electric SUV will feature an 83.4-kWh battery, and will be produced by SAIC Volkswagen in China.
- This model is one of several VW Group EVs based on the MEB platform that the automaker will not offer stateside.
Audi took the wraps off the Q5 e-tron electric SUV at the Guangzhou motor show in China this week, welcoming the latest member of the MEB family—and one that could stay confined to the Middle Kingdom. It's slated to be produced by the SAIC Volkswagen joint venture in Anting, China, which has also been tasked with building the Volkswagen ID.6, to which it will be closely related.
Intended to offer seating for six or seven, the Q5 e-tron will be offered with a choice of rear-wheel drive, badged somewhat opaquely as 40, or quattro all-wheel drive with a 50 badge on the back, both powered by the same 83.4-kWh (gross) battery. The single-motor version will serve up the now-familiar figure of 201 hp, while the dual-motor Q5 e-tron will dial that up to 302 hp. A third version with a smaller battery is also expected to land sometime later, likely with a 55-kWh battery underneath and a single motor out back.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the Q5, as far as the drivetrain is concerned, is the 83.4-kWh (gross) battery pack that will give it a quoted range of 348 miles in the NEDC cycle. We haven't seen this battery pack in any VW Group EVs stateside, having made an appearance in the Chinese-market ID.4 X. In dual-motor flavor the Q5 50 e-tron quattro will still boast a range of 323 miles, once again in the optimistic NEDC cycle, but still quite a bit north of what we've seen here in our US-market ID.4 models.
Ultimately, the Q5 e-tron was designed as a more luxurious version of the ID.6 for the Chinese domestic market, intended to be produced solely there, so it's not even expected to receive a European version that could be produced in Wolfsburg or elsewhere on the continent for the European market or for export.
We wouldn't hold our breath in hopes of seeing the Q5 e-tron stateside, as Ingolstadt's menu is already filling up quite quickly with electric SUVs, with the latest two additions being the Q4 e-tron and its Sportback sibling. Likewise, the underlying ID.6 could stay overseas as well, with Volkswagen planning a grander ID.8 model for the states.
Even with the absence of the Q5 e-tron, buyers in the States should have no shortage of choices from Audi in the near future when it comes to EVs.
Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.
