Audi’s Massive Electric Push in San Francisco with New e-tron

That Audi’s new all-electric crossover is dubbed simply “e-tron” may be a bit confusing. Amidst a family of vehicles from A1 to Q8, with S and RS variants thrown in for good measure, calling the new offering e-tron when there are already cars like the Q7 e-tron and A3 e-tron in the mix may not seem the most obvious choice.

A car named simply for its tech breaks the normal mold, but then again so does the e-tron crossover. Audi’s banking on the fact that a fully-electric crossover smack dab in the most popular segment, with all of their tech, their safety, their interiors, their performance… that it’ll be a clear cut win for the brand. It will likely be that.

The e-tron also signals a paradigm shift. Where plug-in hybrid e-trons have been on sale for years now and Audi flirted with full-electric R8 e-trons very lightly… not to mention any number of concept cars, this is the first real production electric to laud from Ingolstadt. Many more are coming they promise, so naming the car simply e-tron may follow a model set with the sale of the original quattro that ushered in the all-wheel drive era.

One wonders then. Does that make this car the “ur e-tron”?

Launching such an important car was no trivial matter. Several events were planned in the tech-capital of San Francisco that included everything from a temporary TechPark to a pop-up electric charging “gas station”. Central to the schedule though was an extravagant reveal dubbed The Charge at the Bay Area’s Craneway Pavillion.

Over 2,000 guests including media, social media influencers, VIP guests and dealers crowded the large pavillion to see the final wraps come off the new e-tron. You can watch the full video of the reveal here. Below that, you’ll find hundreds of photos from the event, many of which are exclusive to e-tron connect.

Event Photo Gallery