Audi will introduce more than 20 new or updated vehicles by the end of 2025, starting with a new Q6 E-tron compact electric crossover due in the second half of 2023.
More than half of the new vehicles will be electric, and Audi plans to overhaul its naming strategy to ensure customers are clear about which models include electric motors and which models still have an internal combustion engine.
In a presentation Thursday outlining Audi’s financial results for 2022, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said the revised naming strategy will see Audi’s electric vehicles carry an even number in their names and that its pure ICE models as well as plug-in hybrids carry an odd number in their names. .
He said the transition began with last year’s renaming of the E-Tron as the Q8 E-Tron following the electric SUV’s mid-cycle refresh. It means the current Q8 petrol SUV could be renamed the Q9 after undergoing its own mid-cycle refresh later this year.
Markus Duesmann
Similarly, Audi’s upcoming redesign of the A4 is rumored to be renamed the A5, with an electric A4 E-Tron to follow shortly after.
Finally, Audi’s electric vehicles will also use odd numbers in their name, as the automaker hopes to sell exclusively electric vehicles by 2033. Audi has already confirmed that its final vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine will be launched in 2026.
During the same presentation, Duesmann also confirmed plans for an electric vehicle positioned below the current Q4 E-Tron. It’s unclear if the model he was referring to is an A4 E-Tron or something smaller like an A2 E-Tron.
