It seems that Audi has an answer to Tesla’s amazing electric powertrains. According to the latest reports, the German-made deal with Alta Devices, which are solar-panel experts. The agreement allegedly means that all Audi electric cars are getting energy-generating panels to the roofs. The idea sounds very interesting because the Californian producer builds highly efficient solar panels.
This is still just the idea. However, that might become reality very soon, because they are developing thing solar panels already, so the lightweight solar cells need to be integrated into the panoramic glass roof. Since the feature comes with electric cars only, we would have to wait until the car manufacturer introduces the E-Tron SUV sometime next year.
And now the bad news: The solar roof won’t have anything in common with the powertrain. Instead, the generated energy will be used for inside use such as air conditioner or seat heaters. This way, they will save energy of the powertrain.
That’s for now, but Audi promises they will solve the problem in the near future, so for two or three years, solar roofs will supply the main battery as well.