Audi automakers plan biggest product expansion offensive

… A4, A6, A8 logos for use on upcoming EVs

Audi automakers are about to commence with the biggest product expansion in its history, with a vast array of new internal combustion and electric models set to debut in the next few years, but customers will need to get used to a new naming strategy.

There are also news that, Audi A4 is to become A5 under new naming strategy that sees even numbers go to EVs, even as the Grandsphere Concept will influence the next-gen A8, and possibly the firm’s smaller saloons too.

At the company’s 2023 Annual Media Conference, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann confirmed that the carmaker was currently restructuring its naming convention in a move that would ultimately lead to all electric models having even numbers in their names, while all internal combustion models would get odd digits.

Duesmann also said that 2024 would see Audi launching a new platform called PPC, which will underpin the last-generation of combustion models. He added that, the current A4’s successor would wear an A5 badge, while the next-gen A6 would upgrade to A7 badging. The A4, A6 and A8 names will be used on upcoming electric vehicles.

Audi has also confirmed that it plans to launch a new entry-level electric model, which will slot beneath the current Q4 e-tron.

In total, Audi plans to launch 20 new models in the next two years, and more than 10 of these will be battery-powered. By 2027, Audi plans to have an electric vehicle in each of the core segments it competes in.

Between now and 2027, the carmaker plans to invest  Euros 43 billion, out of which around two thirds will be allocated to electrification and digitisation.

Audi is also set to introduce a new design language for its cars. After unveiling its new Activesphere concept earlier this year, Audi design boss Marc Lichte disclosed that its future cars would be “softer, more friendly and less aggressive”.

The new design philosophy is likely to be ushered in by the next-generation, PPE-based Audi A8, which is said to be heavily inspired by the Grandsphere concept.

MIKE OCHONMA