Audi’s next vehicle platform will make its debut underneath the incoming Q6 e-tron SUV, opening the floodgates to a raft of new Audis, of which at least half will be electric cars.
Audi’s certainly not the only brand currently powering into the electrification era, but its CEO has recently confirmed it aims to have an electric model in “each core segment” within the next four years, with more than 20 new models to come in the next two.
Audi CEO Markus Duesmann reconfirmed the brand’s timelines for its electrification goals during the recent Audi annual media conference.
“Sales of all-electric models increased by 44 per cent year on year. The high demand for our Audi Q4 e-tron, Audi e-tron GT and Audi e-tron models confirms that we are on the right track toward e-mobility,” Duesmann said.
“We are on the verge of the biggest product initiative in our history. By 2025, we will have launched around 20 new models, more than 10 of which will be all-electric. We have set the course to go 100 per cent electric.
“By 2027, we seek to offer an all-electric vehicle in each core segment. We recently decided to launch an additional electric entry-level model below the Audi Q4 e-tron as well.”
He reiterated the first model of these, the Q6 e-Tron, will be the first on the Volkswagen Group’s new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture.
“The upcoming Audi Q6 e-tron model series is the first to be based on the new Premium Platform Electric. With it, e-mobility is coming from Ingolstadt for the first time.”
The Q6 will share this platform with the likes of the next Porsche Macan, which itself boasts an impressive specification sheet that includes charging at up to 300KW and a split 800V architecture that lets the system charge in ‘two sections’, topping up a 100kWh (approximately) battery pack from empty to over 80 per cent in less than 25 minutes.
Further to the incoming electric models, of which we expect to see many as electric versions of existing models as with the Q6 e-tron, Audi is adjusting its nomenclature to suit its mix of electric and combustion vehicles in its line-up.
The brand will reportedly use even numbers such as Q4 or A6 for its electric models, and odd numbers for combustion engines.
Though unconfirmed, a report from UK outlet AutoExpress posits that the A4 will become A5 to make way for an electric A4, while Head of Audi Design told Top Gear more recently that the e-tron name will stay even with the changes to numbering.
“I think [e-tron is] a very clear differentiation, and… there will be one differentiation more. But it’s too early to talk about it yet.”
“We have to wait until the end of this year, then you will see there is even more detail which differentiates combustion engine and EVs.”
Keyword: Electric onslaught! 2024 Audi Q6 e-tron to lead more than 10 new Audi electric cars by 2025 - report