Autonomy anxiety? Audi cancels it with the e-tron trip planner

The so-called range anxiety, combined with the generally high purchase price, is considered one of the main obstacles to the spread of electric mobility. The solution to the problem developed by Audi is called e-tron trip planneras the name suggests, a software created to improve the charging experience especially on long journeys. Integrated into the Mmi infotainment system, it shows on the display the presence of all types of charging infrastructure, to facilitate localization based on the speed of the charging station and the distance, suggesting the best hypothesis to reduce refueling times to a minimum . It debuted on the Audi Q6 e-tron, and is now present on the entire electric range of the four rings.

How it works

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Audi e-tron trip planner is an adaptive planner. Update travel and charging strategies in real time based on the status of the charging stations, considering factors that affect autonomy such as driving style and environmental conditions: the forecast of a snowfall, for example, can have an impact on distance and times charging. Once the destination has been entered, Audi e-tron trip planner identifies the stations that can be reached based on the car’s autonomy, but always functional to reducing travel times. It is possible to customize the charging strategy based on specific needs and personal propensity for prudence, setting the minimum level of residual energy at the time of refueling from 2% to 20%. The residual charge at the destination can also be modified according to needs, with the possibility of conserving from 2% to 90% of the energy (up to 50% in the case of the Audi Q4 e-tron range). The privileged system Hpc stations (High Power Charging) and a travel and charging strategy that optimizes timing. Audi e-tron trip planner also allows you to select stations from specific suppliers, for example Ionity and Ewiva, to take advantage of all the options and benefits of subscriptions Audi charging plus and procharging at high speed with rates 30% lower than the standard. Charging points are updated online and in real time.

The test on the Audi SQ6

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It was possible to test the Audi e-tron trip planner on board one SQ6 e-tron from 517 HPspecially delivered with approximately 25% residual energy. The objective of the press test was in fact to avoid charging anxiety by providing all the refueling options present in the area. Having selected the circular route on the outskirts of Verona on the navigator, the display begins to show the charging points closest to the place where we are, ignoring them even though the charge level began to approach the 20% threshold. This is because he had already identified the largest Ionity station in Europe, in Affi (Vr), as the ideal place to refuel quickly despite it not being the closest. Apparently not the most logical solution to limit the anxiety of running out of energy, immediately canceled out by the information on the residual autonomy with which the destination will be reached.