Audi announced today that it started production of its highly anticipated Q4 e-tron electric SUV at its Zwickau factory.
The Audi Q4 e-tron was first unveiled as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019, but the German automaker quickly announced plans to bring the vehicle to production.
It was first supposed to happen in 2020, but it was delayed into 2021 and now Audi is announcing the start of production:
Audi goes “back to its roots”: In Zwickau in Saxony, the birthplace of this long-standing German company, production of the Audi Q4 e-tron has finally started. The fully electric compact model is the first electric SUV to be produced by Audi in Germany. The Q4 e-tron features a Volkswagen-made modular electric drive matrix (MEB), a highly versatile and variable platform that is suitable for numerous fully electric models and offers considerable scope for leveraging synergies.
The vehicle is being produced alongside the VW ID.4 electric SUV, which shares the same platform.
Audi shared a few pictures of the production line:
Audi says that 1,400 assembly line employees are working on producing the Q4 e-tron.
Peter Kössler, AUDI AG board member for Production and Logistics, commented on the cross-brand collaboration with Volkswagen:
“The cross-brand collaboration in Zwickau demonstrates once again the enormous synergy potential that we enjoy with the Volkswagen Group. The on-schedule start of production of the Audi Q4 e-tron is testament to the outstanding teamwork – among the Volkswagen and Audi colleagues alike. Our compact electric SUV is unmistakably a true Audi that will wow our customers with its outstanding quality and everyday usability.”
Dr. Stefan Loth, chairman of the executive management of Volkswagen Saxony, added:
“With the start of production of the Audi Q4 e-tron, the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau is now a multi-brand plant. As a result, we are writing yet another chapter in the long history of the automotive industry here in Saxony. I’d like to thank all the Audi employees who are currently manufacturing the vehicles to the very highest quality, in the agreed-upon volume, and on schedule.”
Audi plans for the production of the Q4 e-tron to be carbon-neutral with the Zwickau plant covering its entire energy needs using renewables and a heat-and-power plant.
While production is starting right now, the Audi Q4 e-tron won’t start to be delivered until the summer – starting with European markets.
The full unveiling of the electric SUV is going to happen next month, but Audi has already unveiled the interior and a few features a few weeks ago.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
