Audi quietly dropped an extreme overland Q6 e-tron — and we are here for it - Related to here, q6, overland, production, general

Audi quietly dropped an extreme overland Q6 e-tron — and we are here for it

The overlanding trend may be played out, but no one told Audi — and they absolutely knocked it out of the park with this extreme off-road Q6 e-tron concept featuring genuine, high-clearance portal axles. (!?).

Volkswagen has been struggling to keep its Audi brand on track lately, but there is no denying team Audi’s styling chops. As if to underscore that point, Audi showed up at this year’s world cup weekend in Kitzbühel, Austria with what the enterprise calls “a highly emotive” Q6 e-tron offroad concept powered by a pair of electric motors (one at each axle) with a combined 380 kW (about 510 hp) and the ability climb 100% grades (45 degrees) thanks to its electric portal axles.

If you’re not familiar with portal axles, it’s a rarely-seen drivetrain design that offsets – usually from above – drive shaft or CV axle from the center of the wheel hub either to dramatically increase or (in rare cases) lower the ground clearance of a given vehicle. Power is then transferred from the axle the wheel through a simple gearbox, built into each hub.

Public domain. By Gwafton; under CC BY-SA [website] license.

The development of an electric portal axle is crucial here, because it elevates the Audi concept from a styling exercise into the realm of engineering studies — and speaks, potentially, to more aggressively off-road focused products from Audi or (more likely) the Volkswagen Group’s ag and Scout brands.

Or, possibly, to a future where Audi is seen as a rugged, ultra-lux off-road brand. It’s a possible future hinted at by Audi CEO Gernot Döllner. “The Q6 e-tron offroad concept is a reinterpretation of quattro,” he expressed, in a statement. “The model exhibits the potential that our platform for all electric vehicles already has today. This vehicle can claim new ground. We look forward to seeing our clients’ reactions to this highly emotive car.”.

The portal axles use gear reduction to increase torque to the wheels at the cost of top speed, which is now limited to 175 km/h (just under 110 mph). More than enough for a high-riding off-roader, in other words — but with up to 13,400 Nm (9,883 lb-ft) of torque at the wheels, you get the sense that it will get from 0-108 mph as quick as you’d like.

Obviously there’s no word yet on any production possibilities, but it looks so good that there’s sure to be one or two copycats at the next SEMA show. Give the Audi Q6 e-tron offroad concept a look for yourself in the photo gallery, below, then let us know what you think in the comments.

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You've Never Heard Of VinFast's Cutest EV

VinFast introduced four models oriented for fleet, taxicab and livery services in Vietnam: The Minio Green, Herio Green, Nerio Green and Limo Green.

The Minio Green is a small city car meant to replace your motorcycle.

The Minio Green can travel up to 111 miles (180 km) on one charge. It has a top speed of 52 mph (85 km/h).

It’s been a hellish past few weeks. The news cycle has been unending, and I don’t know a single writer, journalist or editor who hasn’t experienced sheer exhaustion with keeping up with it. Case in point: VinFast introduced four new cars last month, and we all kind of missed it.

All featuring the suffix “green,” these four cars are new entries into Vietnam’s budding EV market. VinFast is clear that these cars are less oriented toward consumers, but exist as entrants into Vietnam’s fleet and livery market. Two of the cars are rebadged and updated existing models in VinFast’s fleet, while the other two are wholly new cars. The most interesting (and cutest) is the Minio Green, a tiny car that VinFast says would be “good for city services."

This dinky city car would slot underneath the already tiny VF3, which is an SUV-styled city car. While the VF3’s mini-Jeep-like styling swayed most of us over, the Minio Green’s super cute Kei Car-like demeanor manages to be just as charming as its tougher cousin. The Minio Green is smaller and slower than the VF3, too. The car’s 26-horsepower motor is quite a bit smaller than the 38-hp VF3 powertrain, as is its top speed of 52 mph (85 km/h). Still, the car can DC fast charge, albeit at a max speed of 12 kW. AC charging is limited to [website] kW. VinFast says the Minio Green can go 111 miles (180 km) from a battery of undisclosed size.

.vn, the whole country is undergoing a sort of renaissance with regards to transportation. Cars like the Minio Green are meant to serve as alternatives to motorbikes, in places where motorbikes are commonly used as taxis. Small EVs like the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV are serving as popular replacements in Vietnam, so it was only natural for VinFast to respond with its own home-grown alternative.

VinFast introduced three other models meant to launch in January, too. The Herio Green and Nerio Green are altered versions of the VF 5 and e34 respectively. At the top of the line is the VinFast Limo Green; a seven-seat EV designed for livery transport.

There is something to be expressed about VinFast continuing to create vehicles for the markets it operates in. While other brands are faltering on the EV front, VinFast has continued to press onward. The cars might not be very good, but perhaps with time and effort, they’ll one day get there. The Minio Green or VF3 may never leave Vietnam, but the lessons learned here could probably make for a more effective VF8.

Hopefully sooner rather than later, though.

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Honda Is Why General Motors Is Slowing Down EV Production In Mexico

Ramos Arzipe produces the Honda Prologue, Cadillac Optiq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Equinox and ICE Blazer.

The plant once had three shifts, but now only has two.

Honda says this is to more effective match the market demand of the Prologue.

Perhaps we should call Mexico the real electric vehicle "hub." For General Motors, and the Honda and Acura brands it's now making EVs for, its Mexican plant in Ramos Arzipe produces a lot of increasingly popular cars. Yet, despite the relative success of cars like the Honda Prologue and Chevrolet Blazer EV, we’re learning that the factory is actually removing a shift and laying off people, at the behest of Honda.

That plant is a very key plant for GM’s EV models. Currently, it makes the Blazer EV, Equinox EV, the forthcoming Cadillac Optiq and the Honda Prologue. The gas-powered Chevy Blazer is made there, too.

However, after adding a third shift eight months ago, GM is going back to two shifts, Automotive News first reported. The outlet also reported that production at Ramos Arzipe had increased to 32,500 units per month, up from 25,000 per month before the third shift was added. The reduction impacts 800 workers.

It's a curious decision to hear about, especially since GM's EV sales had an outstanding 2024 and the Prologue turned out to be the surprise hit of the year (not to mention the best-selling GM-made EV.) So what happened?

Interestingly, the reduction of this shift comes at the behest of Honda, which told InsideEVs that it's “tweaking production” to match demand.

The Prologue had a strong introductory year, responsible for more than 46,000 units produced at the Ramos Arzipe plant with about 33,000 units making their way to [website] driveways. Yet that might not be the full story here. We reached out to both Honda and GM to ask if the shift cut was tied to the on-again, off-again 25% tariff on Mexican goods; representatives from both companies mentioned no.

“It is quite normal in our business to make production adjustments during the year in order to meet customer needs and market conditions. We will continue to carefully manage production and inventory of our entire product lineup to meet anticipated demand in 2025,” a Honda spokesperson stated.

But, as of right now, demand seems strong, right? Honda dealers are excited to have EVs, as we've reported in the recent past.

The actual math is likely a bit more complicated, though. , despite the Prologue’s success in the market, there still may be too many Prologues waiting on lots. The market-day supply (that is, the average amount of time a car sits at a dealership until it is sold) is generally above average for EVs. The 10th quickest-selling EV is the Subaru Solterra, which has a whopping 96-day supply. The Prologue is not on this list, so it's unclear whether it's flying off dealer lots or has to be moved primarily with deals and incentives. By comparison, Honda’s average market day supply for all of its models, including the Prologue, is 69 days.

So, although the Prologue is selling at a decent clip and is responsible for Honda’s growth in EV world, there’s a real possibility that there are still too many units on dealer lots, making the vehicle ill-matched to actual demand. Also, given the state of limbo the EV tax credit situation is, it’s not exactly clear if things will get improved in the immediate future.

That, of course, doesn’t mean that Honda is giving up on EVs. For now, the Prologue will serve as Honda’s lone EV until its EV hub is up and running by the end of this year. When it’s finally running, we’ll have at least two EVs from the brand on the roads by early 2026. But Honda may be waiting for things to even out, or settle, before it figures out how many Prologues to get out to its dealers.

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