Volkswagen Group premium car unit Audi is betting ‘green’ car fans are more interested in low emissions than distinctive designs.

In contrast to BMW’s i3 and Tesla’s Model S, which attract interest because their styling stands out, Audi’s first plug-in hybrid is a modified version of its A3 hatchback that looks identical to the conventional model, a Bloomberg News report noted. The A3 Sportback E-Tron can drive emission free for 50km (31 miles) and costs as much as EUR15,100 (US$20,600 more than its petrol-powered twin.

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Adding electric technology to the existing model lineup “gives us maximum flexibility”, Audi chief Rupert Stadler told Bloomberg. “We can react better to changes in demand” while producing a separate hybrid or fully electric model “also means fixed costs”.

“BMW created a product that is totally different” while Audi as well as Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz “try to integrate e-mobility into their existing vehicles,” Christian Breitsprecher, a Frankfurt-based analyst with Macquarie Europe, told Bloomberg. The advantage for Audi and Mercedes is “if there’s lots of demand, they can produce a lot. If not, they can allocate the capacity to their normal cars.”

The news agency noted the question is whether customers will pay extra for technology that’s not evident from the outside. The E-Tron model starts at EUR37,900 in Germany while the base petrol-powered version costs EUR22,800. One of the few evident differences between the two is the E-Tron’s almost noiseless driving in the city.

According to Bloomberg, inroads by Tesla Motors into the luxury car segment show that wealthy drivers are ready to buy upscale green cars, if they get noticed. That goes for the i3 as well. Demand for the compact car prompted BMW to triple production of carbon fibre used for the frame.

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“In an i3 and the Tesla, the attributes of luxury, modern technology and protecting the environment are clearly visible to everyone,” Breitsprecher told Bloomberg. The Audi plug-in “doesn’t show off that the consumer paid extra.”

Bloomberg said the risk for Audi is more to its image as a technology leader with demand for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles expected to remain restrained because of the cost and limited range. The segment is forecast to account for just 5.7% of global car production in 2019, according to IHS Automotive.

Audi plans to add plug-in hybrid technology to each of its models, including the Q7 sport-utility vehicle and A6 sedan, by the end of the decade.

“We have maximum flexibility and that’s smart,” Stadler told Bloomberg.