First electric Audi from China may be a long-wheelbase version of the Q6 e-tron
According to Chinese media, the construction of the Audi-FAW factory in Changchun, which began in June 2022, is due to be completed this year. The PPE plant was first announced in January 2021 – since then, the goal has been to start production at the end of 2024. If the construction of the buildings is completed this year, the schedule could be met.
The first model to be produced in the new plant, which is designed for 150,000 EVs per year, is to be the Audi Q6L e-tron from 2024, i.e. a long version of the Q6 e-tron, as it will be built in Ingolstadt in the future. According to insiders, the other two models that Audi-FAW will produce there are a Sportback offshoot of the Q6L e-tron and the A6L e-tron. The A6 e-tron (in Europe from the Neckarsulm plant) will, therefore, also get a long-wheelbase version for the Chinese market.
Due to demand, the Sportback offshoot of the Q6L e-tron would make sense in China. However, it was said at the beginning of 2022 that there would only be one SUV among the three electric models from Changchun – but with the Q6L e-tron and the Q6L Sportback e-tron, there would be two. Audi has so far presented the A6 e-tron and A6 Avant e-tron as PPE studies – but an electric estate is probably less in demand in China than an SUV coupé.
There is also new information on the batteries for Audi’s PPE electric cars for China. The carmaker will use LFP batteries from BYD or NMC batteries from CATL (depending on the model variant). BYD will manufacture the batteries directly on site in Changchun, namely in the joint factory with FAW, which started production in July 2023. Up to 45 GWh of Blade Batteries can later be produced there per year – in the first of three phases, the capacity is still 15 GWh.
However, nothing is known about the technical data of the batteries. Therefore, the battery variants’ energy content, density, or charging capacity with the different cell chemistries are still unknown. No data on the European version has been published either; according to the latest information, the world premiere will take place in March 2024. It is known from the PPE sister model, the Porsche Macan, that the battery will have a capacity of more than 100 kWh.
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