Audi to add all-electric compact SUV to S. Korea lineup

All News 15:10 September 06, 2022

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- Audi Korea said Tuesday it will add an all-electric compact SUV model to its lineup in South Korea to better compete with its rivals in the burgeoning local EV market and boost sales.

Audi will begin to deliver the Q4 e-tron 40 SUV and its sportback version on Sept. 19. It has received about 7,000 preorders for the new model, the company said in a statement.

The Audi Q4 e-tron 40 SUV and the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron 40 SUV can travel up to 368 kilometers and 357 km, respectively, on a single charge based on an 82 kWh battery, it said.

Audi Korea's Executive Director Lim Hyun-ki gives a briefing on the planned launch of the Q4 e-tron 40 SUV and its sportback version later this month at a press conference held at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in central Seoul on Sept. 5, 2022. (Yonhap)

"This new attractive model will help the company compete with rivals, domestic or imported, in the premium compact EV segment in terms of prices, Audi Korea's Executive Director Lim Hyun-ki told Yonhap News Agency after a press briefing on the new model.

The German carmaker offers a warranty of eight years, or 160,000 kilometers, for its third pure electric model. It is priced at 60 million won-70 million won (US$43,800-$51,000).

The Q4 Sportback e-tron 40 model is available with a subsidy of 3.7 million won in the capital city of Seoul, but no subsidy is available for the Q4 e-tron 40 SUV.

In July 2020, Audi launched the e-tron 55 quattro SUV, its first fully electric model, in South Korea following rollouts in Germany, the United States and China in 2019.

Audi introduced the second electric model e-tron GT and its high-performance model RS e-tron GT in Korea in December 2021 as part of its global efforts to fill 35 percent of its lineup with the emission-free models by 2030.

Audi Volkswagen Korea sells four brands -- Audi, Volkswagen, Lamborghini and Bentley -- in Asia's fourth-biggest economy.

Sales of Audi badge vehicles fell 14 percent to 12,645 units in the January-August period from 14,771 units a year earlier.

Audi Volkswagen Group resumed sales in South Korea in early 2018 after suspending normal operations in 2016 following an emissions cheating scandal that hurt consumer confidence in the brand.