Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Truth in 24 Trailer

This is available for D/L from iTunes

Audi Inks deal with Sanyo for lithium-ion battery packs


On the heels of the VW announcement that feasible electric cars are years away, Audi's CEO Rupert Stadler confirms that they too believe EVs are years away from becoming affordable, mainstream vehicles.

Last week, Audi held an annual meeting in Germany. They discussed future product plans and spoke about alternative energy vehicle coming from the company in the next few years. What Audi did confirm is that their first hybrid the Q5 SUV is coming to market, but Stadler only stated to expect it in the "near future".

Audi has been on and off in regards to there hybrid program. The Q5 hybrid was originally slated for production in late 2010, but now that may have changed as Audi will no longer confirm the date.

The company is not counting EVs out. They recently signed a collaboration deal with battery maker Sanyo and are reportedly working towards a possible EV. But with the company stating that EV profitability could be a decade away, we don't expect Audi or VW to bring one to market in the "near future", our best guess is sometime in the "far future".

Source: Audi Press Release