Audi e-tron safety testing. Source: ANCAP
The all-electric Audi e-tron has gained a five-star rating from Australian vehicle safety body ANCAP, bringing the German premium car maker Audi closer to a planned late 2020 launch.
The new safety rating follows the installation of at least one ABB DC fast charging unit at a major capital city dealership as reported by The Driven last Wednesday.
The Audi e-tron SUV is scheduled to enter the Australian market in the third quarter of 2020, and will be offered as a “55 quattro” and “50 quattro” variant, with the new safety ratings applying to both variants.
The e-tron has a 95kWh battery offering around 370km real world driving range (436km based on WLTP ratings).
It will be the third premium electric SUV to enter the Australian market, which despite a 2-year slump in auto sales continues to favour SUVs and has seen a continued uptick in electric vehicle sales, albeit from a low base.
ANCAP director for communications and advocacy Rhianne Robson praised the e-tron for its range of safety features and technologies, as well as its high child occupant results.
Scoring 88% for child occupant protection, the e-tron rated even higher for adult occupants, although Robson noted concerns were raised around driver chest protection.
“A score of 91% was achieved for its protection of adult occupants, yet engineers noted a slight concern for driver chest protection in the oblique pole test,” she said in a statement.
On vulnerable road user protection, the e-tron scored 71% with top marks for lower leg impact, while safety assist features saw it receive a rating of 78% with top marks for seat belt reminders.
Included as standard in the e-tron are dual frontal airbags as well as side chest and head (the latter being curtain-style) airbags in both the front and second rows.
Driver assist features included as standard are automatic emergency braking (City, Interurban & Vulnerable Road User), lane keeping assist as well as lane departure warning and emergency lane keeping.
The e-tron will join the Jaguar I-Pace and Mercedes-Benz EQC, which have also scored five stars from the vehicle safety body.
“While vehicle sales are down, SUVs remain the dominant segment, so it is encouraging to see safety continuing to be prioritised,” Mrs Robson said.
A detailed technical report for the Audi e-tron ANCAP safety ratings can be downloaded here.
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Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
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