Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG (ETR:VOW3), is betting big on electric cars. The automaker plans to launch two electric cars by 2019, including the e-tron quattro and the e-tron Sportback. Now, the subsidiary of Volkswagen AG (ETR:VOW3) said that it will also introduce a third electric car that could pose a direct threat to Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s upcoming Model Y, Business Insider reported.
The automaker plans to bring e-tron quattro SUV to the market in late 2018, while its e-tron Sportback will make debut in 2019.
Audi said that its third SUV will be smaller SUV built on VW’s new MEB platform.
“We are looking to also introduce a smaller SUV, which is going to be fitting more into the “A” segment, so in the place where the Q3 competes today,” Filip Brabec, vice president of product management for Audi of America, told the news outlet.
Audi plans to launch its third electric car in 2020. Brabec did not share information about the car’s price but noted that it will compete in the same segment as Audi’s Q3 crossover, which starts at about $31,000.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has said that the company’s compact SUV Model Y is likely to arrive in 2020. Per Musk, this upcoming crossover SUV will not be based on the Model 3 platform but it will have an entirely different platform.
“I think we need to come up with the Model Y sometime in 2020 or, aspirationally, late 2019. And then I think that 1 million units is quite likely, combined, yeah. Maybe more,” Musk said during the recent conference call.
In addition to electric cars, Audi also plans to introduce new hybrids. “We are looking at a couple more plugin-in hybrid applications for our market, as well. None that we are prepared to discuss at this point,” Brabec told the publication.
Meanwhile, shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) closed up 0.53% on Friday. The stock is up 52% so far this year.