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Audi A4 EV Version Has Been Delayed Till 2029
The all-electric Audi A4 e-tron was supposed to be the brand’s answer to the Tesla Model 3 and the new BMW i3. However, according to leaked internal information, Audi has been forced to delay the start of production until spring 2029.
The group’s key super-platform is in serious trouble, and this negative trend is now affecting future models such as the electric VW Golf, Handelsblatt reports. Audi originally planned to introduce its electric A4 in mid-2028. As early as this summer, Audi’s technical director, Rouwen Mohr, claimed that everything was on schedule and that no changes were needed. German business daily Handelsblatt now reveals that the start of production is being delayed until at least March 2029, and internal sources fear that it could take until May before the production lines even start operating.
The reason for Audi’s delay is the platform. The A4 e-tron was supposed to be one of the first cars built on the Volkswagen Group’s new, future architecture called SSP (Scalable Systems Platform). However, the development of the SSP has proven to be a major problem. The situation is further exacerbated by a decision made late in the development phase by Audi CEO Gernot Delner.
Delner recently requested an upgrade of the entire A4 program to a low-voltage 48-volt system to power the vehicle’s control units and sensors. However, the software (called SDV 1.0), which is being developed as part of a much-touted, billion-dollar partnership with American company Rivian, was designed for older 12-volt systems. Now the codebase must be adapted to the 48-volt system.
When former Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess unveiled the SSP platform in 2021, he promised it would be ready for the market by 2026 to beat Tesla. Today, five years later, not a single car has been built on that platform. Instead, the VW Group is forced to continue building cars on the older MEB and PPE platforms (which the new Audi A6 e-tron and Porsche Macan are based on).
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