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With increased range, Audi R8 E-Tron revving up for production. Maybe

As Tesla Motors proved mightily in 2013, an expensive EV with a long range can sell quite nicely, thank you very much. Perhaps Audi was taking notes, since its all-electric R8 E-Tron's on-again/off-again odyssey appears to be on again, according to UK's Autocar, citing Audi's Urlich Hackenburg. The model is near the approval stage for production, and the key to the green-light is the fact that its single-charge range has been almost doubled to 250 miles. The R8 E-Tron gained kudos in these parts last June by turning in a rather brisk 8:09 time around Germany's Nurburgring track, a record for a production electric vehicle (check out the really quiet video here). Still, plans for the 376-horsepower model, which has two electric motors and was first shown off at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2009, had been put on the proverbial blocks largely because of a relatively short single-charge range of about 150 miles. Then word came out last spring that Audi would produce maybe 10 units before reports from Australia's Drive late last year indicated that plans for potentially broader production were being resuscitated.

Audi's 2025 goal for 25% EV sales? It's already happening

We were pleasantly surprised by Audi's full-throated support for plug-in vehicles at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. That support took the form of the surprising claim that between 20 and 25 percent of new Audis sold will have a plug by 2025. The encouraging electric love fest continues in a new press release that's all about the brand's European sales. Now, US sales of the A3 E-Tron will start at some point in the next two months, so we don't know how the excellent plug-in hatch will fare here but as you can see, things are going extremely well in Europe: A year after its market introduction, the sales figures for the Audi A3 e-tron are also extremely encouraging: In Western Europe, it conquered top spot among the electric cars in the premium compact segment over the past few months. In Norway and the Netherlands one in four Audi customers is already opting for an A3 e-tron. So, after being available for 12 months across the pond, the numbers are impressive. Perhaps Audi of America CEO Scott Keogh knew that the 25 percent threshold is already a reality in two countries when he spoke to us in LA. In any case, Audi's got something to point to today when people ask if selling 25 percent of its cars as EVs is possible. If you'd like to add your dollars to Audi's plug-in sales figures, the A3 E-Tron's configurator is live. AUDI AG: European sales up six percent in November Audi remains on track: With around 147,750 deliveries (+1%) in November, the company reaffirmed its strong sales result from the prior-year month. In Europe, the Ingolstadt-based carmaker increased sales by 6 percent to around 62,300 units, despite the model changeover for its bestseller, the Audi A4. Since the start of the year, more than 1.64 million customers worldwide have chosen the brand with the four rings, up 3.4 percent. "In light of extraordinary effects in China and the model phase-out for the first-generation Q7 in the United States, we are satisfied with our sales performance in November," says Dietmar Voggenreiter, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. "The sustained high demand for Audi models in Europe and our good global order situation continue to provide momentum for the months ahead." Most recently, the brand's growth in Europe was driven particularly by the latest models: Sales of the Audi Q7, with the latest generation launched in summer, quadrupled to around 3,300 units in November.

Audi, Jag, Kia and Tesla top Strategic Vision 2014 Total Quality Index

A couple weeks ago, J.D. Power released its latest Initial Quality Study, which gave high marks to Porsche, Hyundai and General Motors, with the latter earning more individual IQS awards than any other manufacturer. Now, it's Strategic Vision's turn, and it's doling out its praise not to Porsche, but to Tesla, which wasn't even included in the JD Power IQS.
The Model S was named the best vehicle overall in total quality, while Porsche's corporate brother and endurance-racing rival, Audi, was named the best premium brand, alongside Jaguar. Strategic Vision cited the Q5 and the ancient Q7 for individual segment awards, as well as the A5, which was a mere point off the top of its segment. SV also handed out compliments for the Audi's interior work. The win for the German brand is a nice improvement over its IQS score, with which it landed above the industry average, but solidly mid-pack.
Jaguar was without a segment winner, although SV did say that the Indian-owned English brand had a number of vehicles very near the top of their segments. This is the second significant win for Jag in two weeks, after it finished second overall on the JD Power IQS a few weeks ago.