Audi Confirms Electric Rival To Tesla’s Model X SUV

Tesla’s upcoming Model X electric SUV won’t have the spotlight to itself for long, with news today that Audi will soon launch its own electrified crossover.

Announced by Audi’s engineering chief Dr Ulrich Hackenberg during the carmaker’s annual press conference this week, the as-yet unnamed model will enter production in early 2018.

That likely means we can expect a concept to appear in the coming year, and Audi has handed down a first teaser image this morning - pointing to a potential debut at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

"In early 2018, we will launch a battery-powered sports activity vehicle in the large premium segment with a range of more than 500 kilometers," Hackenberg said.

Hackenberg’s comments follow the release of a short statement with the electric R8 e-tron sports car earlier this month, which confirmed that a new EV SUV is indeed in the works.

Hackenberg promised a “new, very attractive design”, although today’s teaser image reveals that Audi won’t stray too far from the styling of its latest production models.

However, we might expect elements of the recent Prologue coupe and wagon concepts to appear on the new concept,  along with the new grille framing worn by the latest Q7 and recently updated Q3.