Audi launches new EV brand and concept for China but an iconic feature is missing

Audi has teamed up with SAIC – a car group from China – to launch a new concept that is simply called the Audi E.

These days, automakers love creating cars that are difficult to categorize, and the Audi E is no exception.

You could call it an SUV, a sedan, a wagon or a shooting brake – and you’d be correct in all four cases.

But, more importantly, this new Audi changes everything for the brand.

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With the Audi E, SAIC and Audi are rebranding

The first thing that stands out is the absence of Audi’s signature four rings.

The 191-inch (4.8-meter) SUV/wagon was designed to envision Audi’s plan for the Chinese market.

The iconic four rings are gone, replaced by a new logo which only consists of the four letters ‘AUDI’.

Traditionalists probably won’t like that.

But, as Bob Dylan once memorably said, the times they are a-changin’.

An all-electric concept

The Audi E comes in with a dual-motor powertrain, with one electric engine for each axle, producing 764 horsepower in total.

It does 0-60mph in just 3.6 seconds, and the range is 435 miles (700km).

More to the point, Audi says you can charge it from 0 to 230 miles (370km) of range in just 10 minutes.

It’s still not as fast as charging a hydrogen car, but we’re getting there.

Visually, the new Audi E doesn’t really look like any other concept or prototype.

It even deviates significantly from the Skyphere and Grandsphere unveiled a few years ago.

By the way, we’re still not 100 percent sure what those two concepts were for.

Maybe just a marketing flex.

By contrast, we know exactly what this new Audi E concept is for.

It’s Audi’s way of saying goodbye to the four rings in the logo – at least for now, and at least in China.

Don’t worry – this won’t be the last we see of them.