E-tron will be perfect for Indian market, says Rahil Ansari, Head, Audi India

On September 18, German luxury car company Audi unveiled the e-tron in San Francisco—its first fully electrically-powered series production model, and a full-size SUV at that. It’s got two electric motors and an electric all-wheel drive, and its large battery gives it a range of more than 400-km in the WLTP (Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure) driving cycle. It is priced 79,900 euros in Germany, which is about Rs 68 lakh at current exchange rates.

For quite some time, Audi India has been talking about bringing electric mobility to the country. Will the e-tron be the vehicle? More importantly, is India ready for such advanced, long-range and ‘expensive’ electric mobility?

In addition to infrastructure, Ansari says automakers expect a favourable duty structure. “Lower import duties on electric vehicles will help us offer our electric vehicle line-up and this, in turn, will help us churn out volumes necessary to make further investments in India. This is where we see the opportunity, as manufacturers, to contribute to mobility via electrification in India.”