Audi Won’t Let You See or Test-Drive the 2019 e-tron
Attempting to match Tesla's successful and overloaded reservation list, Audi dealers will not stock a single e-tron in their showrooms as the automaker begins selling its first battery-electric car.
That means nothing-no test drives, walkarounds, or buttocks in seats-until the first deliveries arrive by summer 2019. Audi of America president Scott Keogh confirmed it to Automotive News, and C/D was given the same line by a sales rep at a popular Connecticut dealership. Audi will only accept a $1000 credit card deposit online, after which you configure the exact spec, choose the dealer, and forget about the whole deal for months until the factory gives you 30 days' notice before your car's production starts. Already, according to our dealer, Audi has secured "thousands" of reservations-and this is after the 999 First Edition models arrive for buyers who placed deposits last year. Those cars come loaded with special colors, trim, and plaques for $87,695. Regular buyers can spend almost as much for an e-tron Prestige or could snag a plainer, but still well-equipped, Premium Plus starting at $75,795.
Audi's sales strategy isn't as much an exclusive buyer's club as a precise method to curb production of a car with limited mass-market appeal. A complete run of paid-for cars ensures Audi dealers will make full profit while avoiding a glut of unsold cars. Even dealers in EV hot spots such as San Francisco won’t be allowed to stock inventory or demos, and as of now, Audi isn’t planning to let anyone drive the car except the media. Major details, like the estimated EPA range, aren’t final. You’ll just have to take Audi’s word-and possibly ours, once we do drive it-that the e-tron will be exceptional.
That’ll be tough once Jaguar sells and physically stocks the I-Pace later this year, without a reservation system. There are more alternatives within Audi showrooms, where dealers currently have stocked more than 290 brand-new A3 e-tron plug-in hybrids they would be happy to discount. Audi customers can also leave with a 602-hp R8 on the same day versus waiting a year for a family SUV they’ve never seen, touched, or driven. The choice is yours.
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