The Audi Q8 e-tron is an exceptionally good car. While that’s the current name of the company’s most advanced electric SUV, it was originally called the Audi e-tron.
The car has the finesse and comfort typical of Audi but also greater autonomy. This improvement didn’t come with a price increase, making it doubly attractive.
The problem is that it arrived late. At its presentation, the Audi e-tron (now Q8 e-tron) was a car with a starting price exceeding 80,000 euros (about $87,000), and a certified range of barely 207 miles, according to the WLTP cycle. In terms of price and performance, it was a costly car.
Audi decided to renovate it to solve its main disadvantage. Now, the Audi Q8 e-tron has a 95 kWh battery (89 kWh net capacity) in its most basic version. It has also added 90 miles to its WLTP cycle certification to reach 302 miles of performance. The most potent versions have a gigantic 114 kWh battery (106 kWh net capacity) to get 358 miles in its best-range model.
But all signs point to Audi being late to the game. Electric car sales are cooling off. They’re still growing but at a slower pace. Manufacturers initially sold overpriced cars to cover manufacturing cost overruns and to bring innovative technology to market, even if it wasn’t the most rational thing to do.
We now know that this was the time when electric cars had a price tag of about $110,000. Over time, EV sales have slowed, and manufacturers are looking to grow with more affordable models. Still, the challenge of bringing them to market remains daunting. The demand for luxury EVs appears to have been met, and Audi finds that the refresh of its Q8 e-tron hasn’t had the desired effect.
The market response has been so lukewarm that this luxury automaker will close its first electric car factory.
Audi Has a Big Problem
The results aren’t the best for Audi. According to Electrek, in the first semester of 2024, Audi delivered 17,900 units of its electric SUV. The figure is lower than what it registered in the same period in 2023 (19,500 units). Still, it doesn't appear to be a brutal fall.
However, expectations were probably much higher. The company is also suffering from the problems that the entire Volkswagen Group is experiencing with the EVs. The company is carrying out significant cost adjustments that are expected to save it about $11 billion.
When Volkswagen announced this new budget, CEO Oliver Blume spoke of layoffs and cuts of all kinds, including a decision to stop giving executives free Porsche cars. The warning was clear: “We are no longer competitive as a brand.”
Now, Audi has announced its intention to “restructure” its Brussels plant. The company claims to be experiencing “a general decline in customer orders in the luxury electric vehicle segment.” As a result, the Belgian plant where Audi produces its Q8 e-tron in two styles, the traditional and Sportback, will cease producing them.
The company’s press release states that Audi was “considering an early end to production of these models at the Brussels plant.” This factory has 1,500 employees whose unions will have to negotiate with their possible firing with the company, an adjustment in the workforce, and the time they dedicate to other tasks.
Volkswagen has long been rethinking its EV strategy. A few months ago, Blume rejected the possibility of opening a new plant near Wolfsburg as planned. In Zickwau, it laid off 200 temporary workers from one of its most emblematic electric car plants (it stopped producing the Volkswagen Golf). The people in the area are worried about the future.
Automotive News also points out that the closure of the Belgian plant may indicate the direction that work related to automobile production could take in the future. Everything indicates that these layoffs won’t be the last in an industry that won't need a workforce as large as it has now in the future.
Electrek also highlights Volkswagen’s bad moments in China. The German group has been overtaken by BYD as the best-selling car manufacturer. Overall, European companies are having problems in a country that is immersed in a price war and is also turning its back on European luxury vehicles.
This article was written by Alberto de la Torre and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.
Image | Audi
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