The German brand could add sounds, vibrations, and smells to future EVs.
A patent also describes windshield graphics and synthetic turbo lag.
Like Hyundai and Ferrari, Audi wants to make its EVs more entertaining to drive.
One of the best things about electric cars is how remarkably smooth and quiet they are. A sense of calm washes over you as you drive a good EV, as you no longer have to worry about jerky gear shifts or an unpleasant engine rattling away. These attributes make EVs great for regular consumers who use cars as nothing more than a means of transport. But for driving enthusiasts like us, electric cars don’t usually get us excited. Audi might have the answer.
A patent filed by the company with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office describes several different systems that could boost the engagement of driving an EV. Loads of other car manufacturers have already done this, most notably Hyundai N with its fake dual-clutch transmission and ICE-inspired audio systems. More recently, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, and Ferrari have all launched EVs with a similar focus on driving thrills.
The first piece of tech that Audi has patented relates to sounds and vibrations. It could add a physical connection from the powertrain directly to the cabin, transmitting vibrations to the driver and passengers. Additionally, less sound deadening could be used to amplify those mechanical noises we all love, and Audi may even let EV owners rev their cars by decoupling the electric motor, Car and Driver reports. Pump in some artificial sounds and it might be possible to develop and build an EV that traditional gearheads would actually want to drive.
Audi’s ideas don’t stop here. By tweaking a car’s software, it could add in synthetic turbo lag, giving EVs a more traditional driving feel without the instant power we’ve all come to expect. Engineers from the German brand have even started dreaming up ways to create scents that’ll get drivers excited. If you want to cruise, a scent could be pumped into the cabin to calm you, or a more evocative smell could fill the car when you stamp down the throttle.
An advanced projection system has also been envisioned, allowing exciting displays to be projected onto the windshield. While we could see something like this appealing to the younger, gaming generation, we suspect it may be a little too distracting for some motorists. As always, there’s no guarantee that any of the technologies that Audi is looking to patent will become a reality, but we’re hopeful at least some will.
Audi has set a new record for longest electric trip on a single charge.
Miko Marczyk traveled 831.4 miles during a lengthy drive in Poland.
Car has 362 hp and is officially rated at up to 482 miles of range.
Range anxiety is becoming a thing of the past largely, as charging infrastructure improves and modern electric vehicles can travel farther than their predecessors. While some models still come up short, there’s no shortage of long-distance options with beefy battery packs.
Notably, the Lucid Air Grand Touring set a Guinness World Record for the longest journey by an electric car on a single charge in 2025. It traveled 748.8 miles (1,205 km), but that record has now been beaten by an Audi.
European Rally Champion Miko Marczyk recently set the new record in an A6 Sportback e-tron performance. The attempt started in Zakopane, Poland, where the Tatra Mountains provided plenty of opportunities to use regenerative braking.
The route eventually took him to Kraków, then along the Vistula Valley to Sandomierz. Marczyk eventually traveled through “Puławy, Warsaw, Płock, Włocławek, Toruń, Grudziądz and the Tri-City area before reaching Hel.” At that point, he turned around and started retracing his steps. When the car finally ran out of juice, between Toruń and Ciechocinek, it had gone 831.4 miles (1,338 km) on a single charge.
That’s an insane figure considering the car has a combined range of between 423 and 482 miles (681 – 776 km). It’s also impressive as the A6 Sportback e-tron performance has a rear-mounted motor with 362 hp (270 kW / 367 PS) and 417 lb-ft (565 Nm) of torque. This means it’s no slouch, as 0-62 mph (100 km/h) comes in 5.4 seconds, before topping out at 131 mph (210 km/h).
Marczyk noted the record was set on public roads, open to traffic, and “many sections” were “covered during rush hour.” Despite this, the A6 achieved an average energy consumption of 7.09 kWh/62 miles (7.09 kWh/100 km).
The racer went on to say, “I believe … the electric vehicle technology developed over many years by the Volkswagen Group ranks among the best in the world. For decades, the Group’s combustion engines led their respective segments. Today, its electric-drive technology is also at the forefront of the industry, and I am delighted that we have been able to demonstrate its potential.”
Interestingly, Marczyk now has Guinness World Records titles for both ICE and electric vehicles. In 2025, he set the record for the “greatest distance driven on a single tank of fuel” in a Skoda Superb. The racer traveled 1,759 miles (2,831 km), achieving an average fuel consumption of just 2.6 L/100 km (90.4 mpg US).
Ceer has unveiled a pair of electric models with up to 1,111 hp.
The Exobot has the longest windshield of any production car.
The EVs will initially launch in First Edition guise with 850 hp.
After several years of promises and testing, Saudi Arabia’s homegrown Ceer brand has unveiled a pair of radical EVs that look more like concept cars than real-life, production models. However, they are very real and will be manufactured at a dedicated plant in King Abdullah Economic City.
The new model is dubbed Exobot and will be sold in sedan and SUV configurations. We’ve seen plenty of bold EVs premiere from newly established companies in recent years, and often, they never see the light of day. While it’d be easy to assume the same could happen here, Saudi Arabia certainly has the funds to ensure Ceer’s models do hit local roads, although convincing locals to buy them may prove challenging.
Both the sedan and SUV stand out from other production cars thanks to steeply raked, almost perfectly flat, windshields which stretch seamlessly into the hood. According to Ceer, the Exobot has the largest windshield ever fitted to a production car, measuring 94.4 inches (2.4 meters) in length. Both versions feature narrow headlights and daytime running lights, while the SUV also rocks a rugged-looking bumper.
Big Dimensions, Big Power
Ceer’s two EVs are also very big. The sedan is 207 inches (5.26 meters) long, 82.6 inches (2.1 meters) wide, and sits just 56.2 inches (1.43 meters) high, while the SUV is slightly shorter at 197.6 inches (5.02 meters), 82.6 inches (2.1 meters) wide, and 66.5 inches (1.69 meters) tall. Both have gullwing-style doors, or as Ceer describes them, Shahin Wing Doors, inspired by the Shahin falcon.
Ceer hasn’t developed the Exobot alone. The brand was established as a joint venture with Foxconn and is understood to be using electric drive systems from BMW.
The Exobot uses three electric motors, combining to produce 1,111 hp and 1,106 lbs (1,500 Nm) of torque in the highest specification, allowing the sedan to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.1 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h). The SUV is a little slower, but can still reach 62 mph in 2.4 seconds and top out at 130 mph (210 km/h).
Initially, the Exobot will be sold in a limited-run First Edition guise. This model will produce 850 hp and 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm), allowing the sedan to hit 62 mph in 2.6 seconds, while the SUV will require 2.9 seconds.
Both versions will rock a 112 kWh battery, giving the sedan 416 miles (670 km) of range and the SUV a solid 348 miles (560 km) of range. Thanks to the 800-volt setup, charging from 10-80 percent will reportedly take less than 30 minutes.
Given all the glass used in the Exobot’s construction and the scorching temperatures in Saudi Arabia, one might expect the EVs to quickly turn into a sauna the moment the sun rises. Ceer says its solution is triple silver-coated glass and a powerful cooling system that can reduce cabin temperatures from 65°C (149°F) to 32°C (90°F) within 10 minutes.
What Else Is Coming?
Other key cabin features include a 48-inch screen across the top of the dashboard, a 10.4-inch central infotainment screen, and an 8-inch display for the rear passengers. There’s also a yoke-style steering wheel, an advanced AI-powered voice assistant, and support for over-the-air updates. Ceer is also promising hands-free self-driving with point-to-point navigation, although it hasn’t said where it’s sourcing its autonomous software and hardware features from.
Pricing details haven’t been confirmed. Ceer will follow up the Exobot with five other models between 2028 and 2030. Initially, the company was only going to build EVs, but it has since tweaked its plans to also include plug-in hybrids and pure combustion-powered models.
Incentives are currently available for the Audi e-tron GT, Q4 e-tron, and Q8 e-tron.
Audi has increased the Q4 e-tron buyout incentive from $3,000 to $5,000.
These discounts may convince some to buy out their lease when the term ends.
Audi is eager to see current lessees of its electric models buy out their vehicles at the end of their terms, and it’s offering some pretty generous incentives to encourage them to do so.
A recent Audi BEV Lessee Buyout Option Incentive, sent to dealerships on September 1, reveals that current e-tron GT lessees are being offered a $10,000 discount to purchase their vehicle at the end of the lease term. In addition, a $5,000 purchase incentive is available for the Q4 e-tron, while a $4,000 one has been confirmed for the Q8 e-tron.
In addition, dealerships stand to benefit as they will receive $500 for each lessee who uses the incentive to buy out their vehicle. This incentive program was first launched in July, but now the Q4 e-tron’s discount has increased to $5,000 from the original $3,000, CarsDirect reports.
The move may make it a little easier to digest the extraordinary depreciation Audi EVs and other electric models from premium brands continue to experience in the United States and elsewhere.
In the case of original Audi RS e-tron GT models, a car that once started at around $140,000, it’s now easy to find relatively low-mileage examples for under $55,000. Prices of the updated 2025 RS e-tron GT Performance have also cratered, from an MSRP exceeding $170,000 to less than $120,000.
It’s worth noting that Audi discontinued the Q8 e-tron in the United States more than 18 months ago, so those who currently lease one won’t be able to replace it with a like-for-like electric SUV from the German brand. The Q4 e-tron continues, and it was recently updated in Europe.
New A2 e-tron EV borrows design ideas from Audi’s innovative 1999 A2 hatch.
Biggest of three batteries delivers 401 range miles; smallest starts at £32,200.
Clever storage and one 167 hp motor comes standard; 322 hp hero tops lineup.
Being ahead of the curve sounds great unless nobody is ready for what you’re selling. Twenty-five years ago, Audi toyed with a radical vision of what a clever compact car could be: light, slippery, incredibly efficient and premium-feeling. Now that thinking and the A2 badge it wore is back, wrapped in a far more marketable electric crossover that might finally have arrived at exactly the right moment.
This is the new Audi A2 e-tron, and while another electric crossover might not sound like something worth cancelling dinner plans for, this one is worth your attention – even if you’re in the US, where the A2 was, and will continue to be, off limits. For a start, it takes some of the design cues of the original A2, the boxy, almost minivan-like body and split-glass rear window, and transplants them on a much wider car with a solid, four-square stance and the cheekiest grin we’ve seen an Audi wear.
The second reason to pay attention is Audi’s claim that the A2 e-tron is the most efficient production model in the brand’s history. Yes, even more efficient than the fuel-sipping, 78 US mpg A2 3L diesel, though we’re not sure how Audi calculated that. In the right configuration, the baby e-tron consumes just 12.8 kWh per 62 miles (100 km), while the real mile-muncher of the lineup manages up to 401 miles (645 km) on the European WLTP cycle.
And Ingolstadt’s engineers haven’t achieved that by simply throwing a battery the size of a studio apartment underneath their VW ID.3 and Volvo EX30 rival. Instead, Audi has gone hunting for wasted energy pretty much everywhere. The A2 has a drag coefficient of just 0.24, helped by an enclosed underbody, active cooling intake, aero wheels and clever little pieces around the wheel arches designed to calm turbulent air.
Even the door handles have joined the efficiency crusade. They’re wing-type handles at the base of the door pillars that use sensors rather than conventional mechanical hardware. Audi scrapped them in favor of conventional handles on the new Q9 luxury SUV but promised we’d see them on a future Euro product. Tug gently and the door opens electrically. There’s even backup energy storage in case the electrical system decides it’s having the day off.
There are three battery sizes, measuring 52, 61 and 84 kWh gross, so something to suit pretty much every kind of use-case scenario. Stick with the 52 kWh battery and you get a 168 hp (170 PS /125 kW) single motor that helps your A2 hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 8.8 seconds and cover 262 miles (422 km) of range before needing to plug-in.
Quattro Notable By Its Absence
An optional 61 kWh pack comes with a 187 hp (190 PS / 140 kW) electric motor, dropping the stoplight sprint to 7.9 seconds and offering a handy range boost to 320 miles (515 km). Splash for the 228 hp (231 PS / 170 kW) A2 and you chop the 62 mph time to 7 seconds flat and unlock that 401-mile headline range figure we mentioned earlier, courtesy of an 84 kWh battery.
And if you’re prepped to swap some of that range for more zip, the 322 hp (326 PS / 240 kW) flagship delivers 5.7-second and 391-mile (629 km) stats. It’s also the only A2 capable of stretching its legs to 124 mph (200 km/h) instead of 99 mph.
In each case that power is settled to the rear wheels because the A2 is based on the MEB platform in use on cars like the Audi’s VW ID.3 rival and Audi Q4 e-tron SUV, not the newer front-drive MEB+ architecture found under the VW ID. Polo, Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq. That means no Quattro tech or badges.
DC charging tops out at 183 kW on big battery cars, which require an unimpressive 29 minutes to fill from 10-80 percent. The two smaller batteries sound like they’re going to be even worse due to their feeble 100 kW charge rates, but they cut the fill time to 24 minutes by virtue of their tiny capacities. Like other VW MEB EVs, this one supports bi-directional charging.
Fidlock? What’s That?
Inside, an 11.9-inch digital instrument display sits alongside a 12.8-inch curved touchscreen, while the gear selector has migrated to the steering column. That leaves more room in the center console for a Qi 2.2 charging pad that can juice two smartphones simultaneously at up to 25 watts. Useful, but hardly revolutionary. The Fidlock system, though, promises to be both.
Fidlock is actually a magnetic mounting system with a mechanical lock, allowing owners to click things like cupholders and charging cable bags into dedicated points around the cabin and trunk. If you’re an avid cyclist you might be familiar with them already, but Audi claims the tech makes its production car debut on the A2.
Ordinary Trunk, But At Least There’s A Frunk
But what about real practicality? It’s okay, but not class leading. The A2 rides on the same 2,770 mm (109 inches) wheelbase as its Q4 e-tron brother, so legroom should be good, but where the Q4 offers 520 litres of trunk space, the A2 can only muster 396 liters (14 cu-ft). It also loses out to the Renault Megane E-tech (440 liters), but beats the VW ID.3 (385 liters) and cramped Volvo EX30 (318 liters).
One of the original A2’s most innovative features was its aluminum construction, but that also made it expensive, contributing to its poor sales. So this time the A2 e-tron is mostly steel with some aluminum content. But what does feel advanced is the development timeline. It took Audi 20 years to reboot the A2 after the last was discontinued, but only 21 months to get it from drawing board to debut.
The original A2 was ahead of its time, but with a slick design, some clever interior touches, impressive efficiency, a genuinely affordable £32,200 starting price and European EV sales on fire right now, maybe this is finally the right time for the A2.
Parallel imports of the Audi E5 Sportback and E7X are now available in Germany.
Importation and local homologation have caused large price premiums.
While pricier than in China, these AUDI models undercut some other Audi EVs.
Many of the EVs offered by Audi in Western markets aren’t exactly class leaders, especially compared to some of the company’s newer rivals. However, in China, the all-caps AUDI brand does sell two innovative electric vehicles that we suspect could sell quite well elsewhere, and they’ve just begun landing in Germany.
The AUDI E5 Sportback and E7X, introduced over the past 18 months in China, were developed specifically for the local market in partnership with SAIC Motor. They are not officially sold anywhere else, but European-based importer Auto China has started selling them in limited numbers in Germany.
Auto China, which also offers parallel imports of several vehicles from Xiaomi, SAIC, and Li Auto, purchased the vehicles in China, ships them to Germany, and homologates them for the local market. This makes them a lot more expensive than they are in Germany. In fact, Automobilwoche reports that the E5 Sportback costs €59,980 ($70,130), while the larger E7X SUV starts at €72,900 ($85,200).
To put those figures into perspective, the E5 Sportback starts at 205,990 yuan ($30,600) in China while the E7X is priced from 269,800 yuan ($40,100), meaning they cost roughly double when imported and sold in Germany by Auto China. Remarkably, even priced at €59,980 ($70,130) and €72,900 ($85,200), they’re still a lot cheaper than some of Audi’s homegrown products.
Perhaps the closest model to the E5 Sportback is Audi’s own S6 Sportback e-tron, and it starts at €99,500 ($116,300). Whereas the Chinese model has twin electric motors and 776 hp, the S6 Sportback e-tron tops out at 543 hp. Similarly, the Audi SQ6 e-tron, which doesn’t appear anywhere near as luxurious as the E7X, is priced from €93,800 ($109,700), making it much more expensive than the imported E7X.
But if you live in Germany and are tempted, buying a parallel import has risks. Audi could pursue legal action to stop their sale. In 2023, this is what VW did when a German importer brought in 20 Chinese-market ID.6s with plans to sell them, but after a drawn-out legal process, was ordered to destroy them all. Even if Audi doesn’t move to ban the import and sale of its Chinese models, owners will likely not be offered service or repair support.
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