Unlike some automakers that are leveraging economies of scale to engineer an architecture to support both all-electric and gas-powered vehicles, Audi is building both. Its all-new Q6 e-tron is the first Audi model built on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), dedicated to Audi’s even-numbered models like the Q6. Odd-numbered models like the Q5 are built on the corresponding Premium Platform Combustion (PPC).
“Some of our competitors have opted for what we call a ‘multi-traction’ platform so you have one base platform and adapt it to combustion or electric vehicles,” Audi EV powertrain development engineer Johannes Haf told Popular Science. “We think that comes with compromises.”
The 2025 Audi Q6 and its sportier sibling, the SQ6, boast a range of up to 321 miles and 275 miles, respectively. Audi’s Mark Dahncke says the upcoming A6 sportback sedan (which will also sit on the same PPE architecture) will do even better than that, approaching 390 miles of range.
Fittingly, Audi’s motto and philosophy–Vorsprung durch Technik, or progress through technology–encompasses the brand’s dedication to its precise engineering. Scores of technical explanations are available online; Barry Hoch, senior director of product planning for Audi, invited us to “nerd out” (his words) on the specs, starting with the motor itself.
Wiring and welding
Hairpin wiring and a direct oil-spray cooling system in the motor’s stator, which creates a rotating magnetic field contribute to the overall performance. Audi says the “fill factor,” or energy density, has increased to 60 percent compared to 45 percent for the conventional windings used previously. The oil spray reduces reliance on rare Earth materials, decreasing total costs and efficiency.
Impressively, Audi designs, engineers, and builds its own electric motors in a production plant in Győr, Hungary. Head of the Electric Drive Systems Product Segment Csaba Imre Benke says 700 employees across three shifts mass-produce 2,000 electric motors for the PPE every day, destined for Audi and Porsche models. Since 2018, that plant has produced more than 500,000 motors in all. Fifteen automatic bending machines are used to make the three-dimensional hairpin windings and two systems laser-weld the ends. No glue is used; instead, robots create 235 laser welds for each. And each stator contains 140 meters of copper wire.
Drivers of the Q6 and SQ6 can determine just how much they want to conserve energy with the system’s one-pedal “B mode,” which brings the vehicle to a full stop when they lift their foot from the pedal. Lighter regen modes are available via paddles behind the steering wheel, to be employed depending on how much you like this option. Push the Q6’s quirky gear shifter past D for drive to B mode to activate the feature.
To cap off the engineering advancements that power the Q6, Audi updated its infotainment system, which was already considered to be at the top of its game in regard to in-cabin technology. The brand is even leaning cheekily into the typical American mispronunciation of Audi as “ah-dee” instead of the proper German way, “ow-dee,” setting up the “Hey Audi” voice commands to recognize either one. Tomato, tom-ah-to.
The 800-volt factor
Audi’s new Q6 e-tron is perched on the same platform as the Porsche Macan EV. Porsche and Audi, as sibling companies within the Volkswagen Group, have significantly amped up its EV intelligence through its relationship with all-electric performance supercar brand Rimac. Croatia-based Mate Rimac has been a star in the EV world, entering a joint venture called Bugatti Rimac in 2021, assuming the CEO role at the same time.
Rimac has been influencing and inspiring Porsche’s EV engineers even before that, as the German company acquired a 10 percent stake in Rimac back in 2018. In turn, Audi has benefited from the collective wisdom gathered in the process. Along those lines, Audi has fully embraced an 800-volt architecture, like Rimac has used in its high-end cars.
The platform’s 800-volt architecture brings several advantages, Haf says. Composed of 12 modules of 15 prismatic cells for a total of 180 cells, the lithium-ion battery pack has a total gross capacity of 100 kWh, or 94.4 kWh net. Plugged into a DC fast charger, the Q6 can be charged 10 to 80 percent in about 21 minutes. Based on the power curve, that breaks down to 135 miles of range added in roughly 10 minutes at a fast charger.
“The 800-volt architecture gives us strong numbers in max charging and power,” Haf confirms. “The range increases because it allows us to reduce weight and complexity.”
In the first-gen Audi e-tron, which included a 100-kWh battery, the charging curve maintained a linear constant power to 80 percent, Haf says. For the 2025 Q6, Audi combined the best of two worlds: it ramps up to a much higher level at 270 kWh, thanks to the 800-volt architecture.
Listening to customer feedback, Audi discovered customers wanted a larger burst of charging in a shorter amount of time, which spurred the brand to create a curve that ramps up quickly and plateaus around 40 percent, Haf explains. To get there, the brand had to find the right chemistry, and the team figured out how to optimize power-to-energy content ratio. As a result, Audi hopes more drivers will feel confident hopping from charging station to charging station and venture out for longer-distance traveling.
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