Audi's first EV developed with MG owner unveiled
When is an Audi not an Audi? When it's the AUDI E5 Sportback, of course.
The new AUDI E5 Sportback is the first car from the company's new China-only brand – or is that sub-brand? – that will exclusively market 'new energy vehicles', or cars with electric and plug-in hybrid drivetrains.
The E5 rides on the new Advanced Digitized Platform developed in conjunction with SAIC, one of the Volkswagen Group's two production partners in China and owner of the MG and LDV brands.
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.
It's unclear how much the new architecture borrows from other SAIC platforms, such as the one underpinning the
IM Motor line
.
According to Fermín Soneira, head of the new
Audi/SAIC joint project
, AUDI offers 'the best of both worlds' by combining 'Audi's DNA' and 'China's digital ecosystem and innovations, specifically tailored for our tech-savvy customers'.
Like parent Volkswagen, Audi has been left flat-footed by Chinese automakers who have launched and iterated new electric vehicles (EVs) at a rapid pace over the last few years.
To help speed the development of EVs for the Chinese market,
Volkswagen has teamed up with Xpeng
, while
Audi has partnered up with SAIC
.
The AUDI E5 is 4881mm long, 1959mm wide, and 1478mm tall, making it 52mm longer than the latest petrol- and diesel-powered
Audi A5
liftback, but 27mm shorter than the A5L sedan sold in China.
At launch the E5 will be available with either rear- or all-wheel drive, and the choice of four all-electric drivetrains rated at 220kW, 300kW, 425kW and 579kW. The latter is capable of propelling the E5 from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds.
Battery capacity maxes out at 100kWh, allowing one model in the lineup to have a 770km range rating under the generous CLTC testing scheme. Equipped with a 800V electrical architecture, the E5 can gain up to 370km of range in 10 minutes.
In terms of design, the AUDI E5 shares little with the regular Audi family. Throughout the E5 the famous four interlocking ring logo is nowhere to be found, and instead there's illuminated AUDI word script logos on the grille, tailgate and front seats.
On the outside, Audi's single-frame grille has been replaced by the 'AUDI Light Frame' grille with 1000 LEDs surrounding a floating element in the bumper.
The company says minimalism is a key feature of the E5's design, hence the smooth, but taut body surfaces.
On the inside the minimalism extends to the number of physical buttons. Across the top of the dashboard is a 4K 27.0-inch display that stretches from pillar to pillar, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 automotive processor.
The infotainment system features the new Audi OS with facial recognition, a built-in app store, and the AUDI Assistant, an AI-powered service that can be called up via the touchscreen or voice recognition.
To help balance out the tech, there's architecture-inspired lamella-shaped wood inlays, a fragrance diffuser, and a suede-like material for the armrests and dashboard top.
The E5 goes on sale in China during the third quarter of 2025. AUDI will flesh out its range with a new model in both 2026 and 2027.
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Once again taking its SU7 Ultra performance sedan to the 20.8km Nordschleife public road course, Xaomi has claimed the lap record for road-legal four-door cars with a blistering time of seven minutes and 4.957 seconds – clear of the 7:7.55 time set by the Taycan Turbo GT in early 2024. Not only that, it also outdid the Rimac Nevera electric hypercar by just 0.3 seconds to claim the lap record for production electric vehicles (EVs), and came within a whisker of the combustion-powered Porsche 911 GT3, Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro, and Porsche Cayman GT4 RS. Unlike Xiaomi's previous lap in 2024, which used a track-only SU7 Ultra prototype, this lap will stand as an official time as the vehicle used was completely road-legal. The only modification was an optional track package, much like the Weissach Package fitted to the now-defeated Taycan. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Still, the production SU7 Ultra was only around 18 seconds slower than its prototype counterpart, which was built to be a track weapon with the support of British engineering firm and motorsport powerhouse Prodrive. Fitted to the prototype version was a carbon-fibre body, stripped-back interior, slick tyres, and extravagant aerodynamic and cooling aids. The production version still features advanced aerodynamics, but sports a smaller front splitter, altered bonnet, less aggressive rear wing, and even an active rear diffuser that continuously tilts for added downforce. Xiaomi has claimed the 2360kg Ultra produces 285kg of downforce at its 350km/h top speed, whereas the prototype version produced as much as 2145kg and weighed slightly less than 1900kg. The production SU7 Ultra hit a top speed of 346km/h during its lap of the Nordschleife. 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Fitted to the prototype version was a carbon-fibre body, stripped-back interior, slick tyres, and extravagant aerodynamic and cooling aids. The production version still features advanced aerodynamics, but sports a smaller front splitter, altered bonnet, less aggressive rear wing, and even an active rear diffuser that continuously tilts for added downforce. Xiaomi has claimed the 2360kg Ultra produces 285kg of downforce at its 350km/h top speed, whereas the prototype version produced as much as 2145kg and weighed slightly less than 1900kg. The production SU7 Ultra hit a top speed of 346km/h during its lap of the Nordschleife. Powering the SU7 Ultra is an all-wheel drive tri-motor drivetrain comprising one Xiaomi HyperEngine V6s motor at the front and two HyperEngine V8s motors at the rear. Total outputs are quoted at 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque, which is claimed to send the car from 0-100km/h in just 1.98 seconds, and to 200km/h in 5.96 seconds. It's fitted with Pirelli P Zero 5 tyres as standard, and features air suspension, a chassis-integrated roll cage, and carbon ceramic brakes. This powertrain was shared with the prototype model and is fed by a CATL 93.7kWh NMC battery. Claimed driving range on the generous CLTC test cycle is 620km, down from 830km for the standard rear-wheel drive SU7 variant. In China, the production SU7 Ultra is on sale for 814,900 Yuan (A$174,000). For reference, Australian examples of the Taycan Turbo GT with the Weissach Package are priced from $416,000 before on-road costs. 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Fitted to the prototype version was a carbon-fibre body, stripped-back interior, slick tyres, and extravagant aerodynamic and cooling aids. The production version still features advanced aerodynamics, but sports a smaller front splitter, altered bonnet, less aggressive rear wing, and even an active rear diffuser that continuously tilts for added downforce. Xiaomi has claimed the 2360kg Ultra produces 285kg of downforce at its 350km/h top speed, whereas the prototype version produced as much as 2145kg and weighed slightly less than 1900kg. The production SU7 Ultra hit a top speed of 346km/h during its lap of the Nordschleife. Powering the SU7 Ultra is an all-wheel drive tri-motor drivetrain comprising one Xiaomi HyperEngine V6s motor at the front and two HyperEngine V8s motors at the rear. Total outputs are quoted at 1138kW of power and 1770Nm of torque, which is claimed to send the car from 0-100km/h in just 1.98 seconds, and to 200km/h in 5.96 seconds. 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