Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has reportedly revealed the badge that the German brand’s first series production electric SUV will wear.
According to Autocar, the new SUV will be called, simply, the Audi e-tron.
You’ll notice, of course, that this moniker carries no specific model designation (earlier reports suggested it would be called the Q6 e-tron). And that, according to Stadler, is reminiscent of the naming of the original quattro back in 1980.
“It is comparable to the first Audi quattro, which was known simply as the quattro. In the long term, the name ‘e-tron’ will stand for a pure electric driveline structure,” Stadler told Autocar.
So, we expect the e-tron badge to find its way onto other Ingolstadt models in future, just as the quattro name has.
“We will have models with the usual names, for example A6 e-tron, A7 e-tron, A8 e-tron and so on,” Stadler confirmed.
The new model is expected to take inspiration (styling and technological) from the e-tron quattro concept that was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2015 (and is pictured above).
Audi says the new SUV will be one of three all-electric vehicles it plans to add to its range by 2020. Interestingly, the low-production Audi R8 e-tron has just been axed in Europe.