Audi is set to introduce more than 20 new or updated vehicles by the end of 2025, starting with a new Q6 E-tron electric compact crossover due in the second half of 2023.
More than half of the new vehicles will be electric by then, and Audi plans to revise its naming strategy to ensure customers are clear on which models feature electric powertrains and which models still have an internal-combustion engine.
In a presentation on Thursday outlining Audi’s 2022 financial results, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said the revised naming strategy will see Audi EVs carry an even number in their names and its pure ICE models as well as plug-in hybrids carry an odd number in their names.
He said the transition started with last year’s renaming of the E-Tron as a Q8 E-Tron following the electric SUV’s mid-cycle update. It means the current gas-powered Q8 SUV might be renamed a Q9 after it undergoes its own mid-cycle update later this year.
Markus Duesmann
Similarly, Audi’s upcoming redesign for the A4 is rumored to swap to the A5 name, with an electric A4 E-Tron to be introduced shortly after.
Eventually, Audi’s EVs will also use odd numbers in their name as the automaker expects to be exclusively selling EVs by around 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 EV positioned below the current Q4 E-Tron. It isn’t clear if the model he was referring to is an A4 E-Tron or something smaller like an A2 E-Tron.
