At the Guangzhou Auto Show last year, FAW-Volkswagen Audi officially released the Audi Q4 e-tron, and Audi Q4 e-tron ushered in pre-sale in May this year. According to official news, the pre-sale price of Audi Q4 e-tron is 300,000-380,000 yuan (~US$44,820 – US$56,772).
As the first model of Audi’s MEB pure electric platform, the new car has the same origin with the Volkswagen ID.4 series in terms of platform, EIC control system and chassis structure. The wheelbase of 2765mm even remains the same as VW ID.4. Based on the performance of various products, it is not an exaggeration for netizens to say that the Audi Q4 e-tron is a facelift VW ID.4.
However, the difference is that in addition to the Audi brand logo, the body size of the Q4 e-tron is even smaller than that of the ID.4 X. For example, in terms of length, the length of the Q4 e-tron is 4588mm, while the ID. 4 X is 4612mm, the height of the Q4 e-tron is 1626mm, and the ID.4 is 1640mm, but the Q4 e-tron has a slight advantage in width. In terms of space and size, the Audi Q4 e-tron’s performance is not outstanding.
In terms of power, the Audi Q4 e-tron China spec is equipped with the same 84.8 kWh ternary battery pack as the ID.4 CROZZ. It uses the NCM811 battery of CATL with a capacity of 84.8kWh (the usable capacity is 79.7kWh), and the battery energy density is as high as 165Wh/ kg, the battery pack is said to deliver up to 605km (376miles) of range in CLTC standard, which is basically the same as the ID.4 series.
In the author’s opinion, judging from the current product performance and pre-sale price of Audi Q4 e-tron in the Chinese market, it may still face greater pressure if it wants to sell well.
One is that the product performance of the Audi Q4 e-tron is not very good. Although it has the Audi logo, its overall product performance is similar to Volkswagen ID.4, which is also based on the Volkswagen MEB platform, but the price is nearly 100,000 yuan (~US$14,940) higher. Even the rear axle uses the same drum brake as the ID.4, whether Chinese consumers will pay for the car logo is hard to say.
Second, the new energy vehicle market in China seems to be completely different from the traditional fuel vehicle market. In the Chinese market, the consumer group of electric vehicles is getting younger and younger, and young Chinese consumers are more and more accepting of Chinese EV start-up brands. There are competitors such as Tesla Model Y, NIO ES6, Lixiang ONE, BYD TANG EV and other models in the same price range as Audi Q4 e-tron, these vehicles has much higher trim level and surely bigger size, which also makes it difficult for the relatively traditional Audi Q4 e-tron to break through.
