Audi has axed its allroad crossover range in the UK, but it won’t be following suit in Australia.
“There’s no plan for any change in our respect in relation to the A4 allroad and A6 allroad,” said a spokesperson for Audi Australia in response to the news from the UK.
The company says that its high-riding wagons are important, incremental models overall.
As with other luxury brands, Audi’s SUVs are considerably better sellers – in 2021, 5703 Q3s and 3604 Q5s against 781 A4 and 251 A6 sedans and wagons.
A4 allroad
Autocar reports the A4 allroad and A6 allroad are being discontinued in the UK as they accounted for less than five per cent of A4 and A6 sales in 2021. Regular Avant models will continue to be sold there.
In Australia, the A4 allroad is also offered alongside a regular A4 Avant, as well as wilder S4 and wildest RS4 performance models.
The A6 allroad, conversely, is sold alongside only a twin-turbo V8-powered RS6 Avant. The regular A6 Avant was discontinued in 2014 due to slow sales.
A redesigned A4 is expected to be launched in 2023 and an Avant version has been spied testing, while Audi executives have spoken about the possibility of a wagon version of the upcoming electric A6 e-tron.
Whether allroad versions of these models will be offered isn’t yet clear, nor is it clear whether the next generation of Audi wagons and allroads will be sold here.
The allroad wagons are currently the only way to get a turbo-diesel engine in the A4 and A6 lines in Australia. Further, the A6 allroad is available here exclusively with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6.
Audi was one of the first premium brands to follow the same basic formula as the Subaru Outback: take one all-wheel drive wagon, give it a higher ride height, and give it plastic cladding and other more rugged design tweaks.
A6 allroad
The first-generation allroad, based on the A6 Avant, was introduced here in 2001, two years after the Volvo V70 XC. It took another decade for Audi to introduce a higher-riding A4, with its allroad spin-off following in 2012.
Though Audi Australia no longer offers the A6 Avant here, it still has the widest range of wagons in the Australian market.
Mercedes-Benz, in contrast, has gradually thinned its local wagon range down to nothing.
The CLS Shooting Brake was axed globally and the second-generation CLA Shooting Brake wasn’t brought here, while the A6 allroad-rivalling E-Class All-Terrain wasn’t carried over to the updated E-Class range last year.
The Stuttgart brand also confirmed the redesigned C-Class won’t be available in regular wagon or new All-Terrain variants, citing growing demand for its SUVs and dwindling demand for its wagons.
BMW has retained its 3 Series Touring locally, though the 5 Series Touring disappeared from the local line-up with the 2020 mid-cycle update.
Pictured: the first Audi allroad
Volvo offers one wagon, the V60 Cross Country, having discontinued the full-sized V90 Cross Country last year along with the regular V60.
Jaguar axed its XF wagon last year, though Genesis recently introduced its first wagon, the G70 Shooting Brake. Porsche also added a wagon, with the Taycan Cross Turismo joining the Panamera Sport Turismo.
Keyword: Audi allroads axed in UK, but safe in Australia