Audi e-tron quattro concept on display at CES 2016

Audi showed its fully-electric sports SUV concept from Frankfurt 2015, the Audi e-tron quattro concept, at the 2016 Consumer Electrics Show in Las Vegas, indicating that it is embracing the concepts of electric vehicles, digitalisation and piloted driving. This includes focusing on making future vehicles user friendly via the human-machine interface (HMI).

Here’s a refresher – the e-tron quattro uses three electric motors with up to 370 kW (496 hp) of power in total to provide quattro four-wheel drive and electric torque vectoring, where power is distributed to the rear wheels as necessary to maximise driving dynamics and vehicle stability. Range is claimed to be up to 500 km on the 95 kWh battery, and a production model is confirmed to be forthcoming in 2018.

Audi’s Electronic Development executive vice president Ricky Hudi said, “The future will radically alter the way our customers operate and experience things in the vehicle. We are developing our successful Audi virtual cockpit into the Audi virtual dashboard and creating an entirely new world of experience for our customers.”

The Audi e-tron quattro concept includes all piloted driving functions, including piloted driving in traffic jams and piloted parking, where Audi has been at the forefront of development. The core component of future systems will be the central driver assistance controller, known as the zFAS.

zFAS is on display at CES, with an interior model demonstrating a HMI concept that features large AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) displays with integrated haptic feedback. An “MMI touch response” recognizes familiar touch gestures and translates them for the cockpit operating environment.

Other future technology developments by Audi include the acquisition of the formerly Nokia-owned HERE mapping service by Audi AG, the BMW Group and Daimler AG. The HERE database features highly up-to-date cloud data providing highly accurate location information that is essential for the navigation of self-driving vehicles.

Audi also showed its lighting innovations, including the latest Matrix OLED technology and Matrix laser technology. Also displayed are three new models from their range – the A4, the R8 V10 Plus and the Q7.