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Audi says 13% of A3 sales are E-Tron plug-in hybrids

Audi's most recent metric for plug-in sales of its A3 Sportback line brings up the classic "glass half full" or "glass half empty" conundrum. The German automaker says that almost 13 percent of its A3 sales during the past year have been of the E-Tron plug-in hybrid variety. That's a decent rate, and a notable one because Audi said late last year that it was hoping that as much as a quarter of its global sales will be plug-in vehicles by 2025. The 2017 model-year Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron has the same specs as the 2016 version, featuring a 1.4-liter engine paired with an electric motor that together deliver 204 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The 2016 version was rated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as having an 86 miles per gallon-equivalent rating, and was estimated to be able to go as far as 16 miles on electricity alone. Audi notes that the EPA hasn't yet rated the 2017 version, but we expect it to be the same. The plug-in hybrid can zip from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.6 seconds. As for that 13-percent figure, Audi didn't specify if that meant US or global sales. The company moved 19,622 A3s in the US through July. At 13 percent, Audi would've sold about 2,500 A3 plug-in hybrids. To put that in perspective, the Ford Fusion and C-Max Energi PHEVs have moved 8,576 and 8,155 units this year, respectively. Audi of America president Scott Keogh said on the eve of last year's Los Angeles Auto Show in November that he wanted 25 percent of Audi sales to be plug-ins by 2025. The following month, Audi said it was hitting that 25-percent threshold in Norway and the Netherlands, where citizens tend to be a bit more plug-in-centric than Americans. But it's a good start. Check out our First Drive impressions of the 2016 A3 E-Tron here. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron News Source: Audi Green Audi Hybrid PHEV e-tron audi e-tron sportback a3

Recharge Wrap-up: Schaeffler 48V mild hybrid Audi TT, Georgia Power charging stations

Schaeffler will test a 48-volt mild hybrid system in the Audi TT. A lithium-ion battery powers an electrified rear axle, which supplements the power provided to the front wheels from the internal combustion engine. The system includes a belt-driven starter generator also running on 48 volts. The car has driver-selected Sport and Eco modes, the latter of which maximizes all-electric driving at low speeds for increased fuel economy. The rear axle can also support the front when more traction is needed. Sport mode wrings out every bit of performance from both the internal combustion and electric motors, with torque vectoring between the rear wheels offering extra stability. Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release from Schaeffler. A man has built a near-life-size replica of a Tesla Supercharger out of Legos. Robert Turner's ode to the charging station stands at 42.5 inches tall (which looks impressive standing next to a real Model S), and took over three months to build. Turner showcased his Lego Supercharger at the Brickworld Chicago Lego convention, and he goes into more detail about the painstaking process of forming his creation out of tiny plastic bricks in a video interview. See the Lego Supercharger and read more at The Brothers Brick. Georgia Power is opening 11 new EV charging stations around the state. The charging islands – which are located at various Georgia Power locations – offer DC fast charging with CHADeMo/SAE Combo plugs as well as Level 2 208/240-volt chargers. Customers can pay with either a Georgia Power or ChargePoint card. These first chargers are part of a larger plan by the utility to roll out 61 charging islands throughout Georgia by the end of 2016. See a list of locations and learn more in the press release below. Georgia Power opens 11 new EV charging islands First phase of statewide public charging infrastructure completed ATLANTA, Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power announced today that the company will open 11 new electric vehicle (EV) charging islands to the public on October 1. The new charging islands, located at Georgia Power properties across the state, mark the completion of the first phase of planned charging infrastructure being developed by the company which will include approximately 61 community charging islands for public use statewide by the end of 2016.

Audi to launch 600-hp RS6 Avant Plus?

Much to the dismay of many - but apparently not enough - there's a whole category of power wagons available overseas that we just can't get our hands on. While the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate and Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon are both available Stateside, the recently revised Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake, the Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake we recently drove at the Nürburgring and the Audi RS6 Avant remain out of reach for American buyers. They all stand on more-or-less equal footing, with forced-induction V8s producing around 550 horsepower. But Audi is apparently taking things over and above with a new RS6 Plus.
Revealed ahead of schedule on a British dealer's website (which leaked details accompanied by a stock photo of the existing model), the RS6 Avant Plus will apparently keep the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, but upgrade from 560 hp to a nice, round 600 to put it ahead of the competition and in league with supercars. Considering that the existing RS6 Avant is already capable of cracking the four-second barrier to 60 and tops out at over 190 miles per hour, we're sure the Plus version will positively annihilate the Autobahn, all while bringing your whole family along for the ride.
Unfortunately it doesn't look any more likely that Quattro GmbH's latest Plus model will make the transatlantic journey to American showrooms, but we can hope that maybe Audi will perform similar modifications on the RS7 Sportback we do get here.