Electric cars flood the luxury market

BMW's i8, pictured in concept form, is expected to eke supercar performance from a super-frugal drivetrain.

The name may not be terribly attractive, but your future luxury car could very well be an EV, a HEV or a PHEV. According to Audi, about 40 per cent of cars by 2030 will fall into these rhyming categories.

Telsa has already released an EV a fully electric vehicle in the sports car class and will follow with the Model S luxury sedan around October. It will be priced from $91,400 plus on-road costs. BMWs impressive all-electric i3 city car will join the EV class in mid-November, from $63,900.

Porsche's Panamera S E-hybrid can drink as little as 3.1L/100km or sprint to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds - just not at the same time.

And HEV? Thats a hybrid electric vehicle. The most famous example is Toyotas Prius, but sister brand Lexus pioneered the hybrid vehicle at the prestige end of the market with various models that combined petrol and electric drivetrains in the one vehicle to improve economy and lower emissions.

Almost all other luxury car makers now have some sort of hybrid offering, and most of these can drive short distances on electric power alone. Its usually a few kilometres at best, however.

Plug and play

The A3 e-tron Sportback is Audi's first plug-in hybrid and will serve as a taxi at Hamilton Island Race Week.

To many, the PHEV or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is the most promising option. This can allow commuter-style distances to be covered on electric power alone with no local emissions. The batteries can then be recharged, as the acronym suggests, by a home or office powerpoint rather than recharged by a petrol or diesel engine, as in the case with a hybrid vehicle.

Audi is bringing five examples of its first plug-in hybrid, the super-economical A3 e-tron Sportback, to Australia in August as part of a teaser campaign before local sales start early next year.

These left-hand-drive versions will be used as taxis during Hamilton Island Race Week, then demonstrated to potential customers on the mainland.

With an electric power system and a 1.4-litre petrol engine that can work separately or in concert, the A3 can travel up to 50 kilometres on battery power alone. Thats enough for many workers to do their weekday trips without using any petrol at all. Come the weekend, the 500-kilometre round trip to the mountains can be achieved by adding conventional petrol power.

Full Article: http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/motors/electric-cars-flood-the-luxury-market-20140816-104zp4.html