This is the AUDI E5 Sportback, seen on a local auto show in the Sanlitun District in Beijing. The E5 Sportback is a sporty wagon-like vehicle with an interesting design. The top-spec variant hasĀ 787 hp.
What is AUDI?
AUDI is a new NEV brand for the Chinese market. The name is spelled in capital letters. AUDI does not use the four-ring Audi logo. AUDI cars simply say AUDI. The manufacturer of AUDI is the SAIC-Audi joint venture, which is part of the larger SAIC-VW joint venture. SAIC-Audi was founded in 2021. The factory is in Shanghai.
Characters: äøę±½å„„čæŖ, ShĆ ngqƬ AodĆ, SAIC Audi.
SAIC-Audi makes several China-only Audi models, including the Audi A5L Sportback, the Audi A7L, the Audi Q5 e-tron, and the Audi Q6 . But those are traditional Audis with the 4-ring logo. The existing SAIC-Audi dealer network also sells the new AUDI cars. So the Chinese consumers can go there to buy aĀ SAIC-Audi Audi or a SAIC-Audi AUDI. That is confusing, and Chinese media are wondering why Audi has not chosen a different, completely new name.
For young people
AUDI targets younger consumers than the traditional Audi clientele. The AUDI E5 Sportback features sharp, dynamic lines, modern electric motors, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and a cutting-edge infotainment setup designed to appeal to tech-savvy drivers. However, AUDI and Audi do not have all this technology in-house, which is why the E5 Sportback relies heavily on Chinese hardware and software.
The AUDI E5 Sportback
The AUDI E5 Sportback is an example of a āreverse joint ventureā (åååčµ) carāa term describing foreign brands that rely on Chinese platforms and technology in joint ventures. This marks a sharp reversal from earlier days, when Chinese automakers depended heavily on Western technology.
In China, the Audi E5 Sportback is designated as a station wagon. That’s a bit of a stretch. It’s more like a mix between a wagon, a liftback sedan, and an SUV.Ā It has a wide, low nose, a short hood, wide front and rear fenders, wide hips, camera mirrors, and a lidar on the roof.
The rear window slopes sharply, but AUDI hides this with a roof spoiler that runs far over the window. The car in the photos is the top-spec AUDI E5 Sportback Flagship Quattro model, painted in Morning Light Purple.
Design Details
It has tiny LED lights inside the main light bar
The Audi E5 Sportback has beautiful black alloy wheels with Pirelli P Zero 245/40 R20 tires.
Aero is important in a 2240 kg electric car. It has an air inlet just above the AUDI logo that sends the air over the hood. Well, everything helps, doesn’t it? The E5’s drag coefficient is 0.252 Cd.
The interiorĀ
The cabin of the AUDI E5 Sportback is completely different from any Audi. The design is nice and sleek, and most buttons have disappeared. The dashboard consists of two screens: a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a giant 27-inch touchscreen.
AUDI sources the ADAS from Momenta, pairing it with a sensor suite that includes 13 cameras, 12 ultrasonic radars, 3 millimeter-wave radars, and one lidar unit. Computing power comes from a 254 TOPS Nvidia Drive Orin-X chip.
On each side of the main screen are the 7-inch screens of the camera mirrors.
The camera mirror is based on a long, thick stalk. The camera unit itself is rather large. It doesn’t seem to be a very big aerodynamic improvement over normal mirrors. The whole ensemble is simply too large.
Yes, of course, it has AI
In the middle of the dashboard is a black purple panel with a digital 3D bump. This is the new AUDI Assistant, an AI assistant that runs on software from the Chinese AI companies iFlytek and ByteDance Vulcano Engine. The system can converse with up to four occupants at once and draws on an ever-growing encyclopedia of knowledge that expands continuously through OTA updates.
The E5 Sportback is a five-seat car. The left and right seats are flat and wide, but the middle seat is only big enough for a small child. The leg room, however, is enormous.
Specifications of the AUDI E5 Sportback
The AUDI E5 Sportback is based on the same platform as the IM L6. IM is a SAIC brand. AUDI calls it the “Advanced Digitized Platform”, but that’s just marketing talk.
Size AUDI E5 Sportback: 4881/1960/1479, 2950.
Size IM L6: 4937/1960/1474, 2950.
The drive and batteries are also the same as on the IM L6. AUDI offers four variants, with either RWD or AWD, different batteries, and various power outputs.
Another E5 Sportback Flagship Quattro, this one in Streamer Silver.
The output of the motors is a crazy 579 kW (787 hp) and 800 Nm. That makes this Chinese AUDI the second-most-powerful Audi ever, only the Audi e-tron GT Performance has more power. The top speed is 230 km/h, and it does 0-100 in 3.4 seconds.
The Flagship Quattro model has a 100 kWh CATL NMC battery. The energy consumption is 16.8 kWh/100 km, and the CLTC range is 647 kilometers. Charging: 800V, 10-80% in 17 minutes.
Pricing of the AUDI E5 Sportback
The AUDI E5 Sportback Flagship Quattro costs 319.900 yuan or $45K. That’s not cheap for China, even for a car with so much power. But the base RWD model with 20 kW and a 76 kWh battery costs only 235.900 yuan ($33K), and that seems a better deal.
AUDI launched the E5 Sportback in September, so we don’t have any sales numbers yet. If it sells well, AUDI plans to launch moreĀ IM-based models in China in the near future.