Counting the orange concept car that made an appearance at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show, there are exactly two examples of the Audi e-tron in existence. However, once production kicks off in 2012, Audi expects about 1,000 examples of the electric supercar to be cruising the world’s roads.
Speaking with the UK’s Autocar, Audi design head Achim Badstubner revealed the German automaker is planning to produce about 1,000 examples of the e-tron. Although the e-tron will carry a hefty premium over Audi’s R8 flagship sports car, Badstubner doesn’t expect 1,000 global sales to be hard to come by.
“There are always people who want to be first to own new technology,” Badstubner said. “Electric cars are usually city cars, but this is difficult because batteries are so expensive, limiting their competitiveness.” Audi ’s premium nameplate should help hide some of the added cost of the e-tron’s advanced battery system.
However, that 1,000 unit target could change based on demand. Like other supercars, such as the Lexus LFA , Audi will only build an e-tron if it has received a customer order. If demand falls short of the 1,000 unit mark, Audi will simply end production early.
