INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Audi is partnering with e-commerce giant Amazon and VW Group unit Electrify America as the automaker prepares to deliver its first
all-electric SUV to United States dealerships next year.
The Audi e-tron, which was unveiled Monday night in San Francisco, kicks off the
German automaker electric vehicle ambitions
The e-tron is the first of three battery-electric vehicles that Audi plans to debut by 2020.
The e-tron SUV joins a growing list of luxury
electric vehicles trying to take aim at Tesla
The partnerships with Amazon, Electrify America and utility service Arcadia Power are meant gird Audi bet on EVs.
These days, it not enough
to produce an all-electric vehicle, even a nice-looking one
Customers considering a switch from gas-powered to electric-powered vehicles or from their Tesla to, say an e-tron, will want access to a
network of fast chargers and other conveniences
These partnerships are supposed to making owning an e-tron easier from setting up a home charger and to &fueling up& the electric vehicle
when it on the road.
The partnership with Amazon will give e-tron owners the option to use Amazon Home Services to prepare their homes for
an installation of a home charger.This is Amazon Home Service first ever collaboration with an automaker to deliver turn-key in-home
charging, according to Amazon.
Amazon Home Services will provide Audi e-tron owners with a place (meaning online) to learn about EV home
charging installation and equipment, pricing for electrical services and the ability to schedule an electrician to install an EV
charger.
Audi is also offering 1,000 kilowatt-hours of power to e-tron owners over four yearsthrough Electrify America chargers
By July 2019, this network will include 500 fast-charging sites (completed or under development) the 40 states and 17 metro areas, according
to Audi.
That still behind Tesla, which has 1,342 fast-charging stations with 11,013 superchargers
But it an important start for Audi if it hopes to compete.
In a third partnership announced with Arcadia Power, the digital utility service
will allow Audi e-tron owners offset their home electricity consumption with renewable energy
E-tron owners can connect their electricity bill to Arcadia Power and select a renewable energy project to support
Subscribers then receive savings their monthly electricity costs, depending on the project energy production, according to Audi.
