Audi's first electric car is about to be distributed to the market.

Audi A3 Sportback e-tron model. (Source: caricos.com)

Audi announced on Wednesday, August 5, the price and release date of its first electric car, the 2016 Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid.

Specifically, this model will be distributed to dealers in the US in October, and it will be the first German electric car sold in the US.

Starting at $37,900 before taxes, the A3 e-tron is part of Audi's growing A3 compact car lineup, which includes the A3 sedan, A3 Cabriolet, and S3 sport sedan.

For now at least, the A3 e-tron will only come in a Sportback version sold in the US market.

This five-door compact car is powered by Volkswagen's 1.4-liter TFSI four-cylinder engine with an electric motor that produces 204 horsepower and 349.8Nm of torque.

This plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) puts its power to the road through the front wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive system is not available on some versions.

Audi says the 8.8 kWh lithium-ion rechargeable battery, which is clamped under the rear seat, will take about eight hours to charge via a regular 120-volt household outlet, but a 240-volt Bosch charger can reduce that time to about 2.25 hours./.

According to Vietnam+