Audi's next e-tron will be Q7

A plug-in hybrid version of Audi's second-generation Q7 that delivers around 275kW/700Nm but consumes less than 4.0L/100km and can travel more than 50km on electric power alone could be the next e-tron model released in Australia.

Speaking at a preview event for Audi Australia's first electrified model — the A3 e-tron, which goes on sale here next March – company chief Andrew Doyle confirmed the plug-in Q7 will be the next e-tron model from Audi.

"The next e-tron will be Q7," he said. "I don’t think it’s as early as Paris [motor show in October]. Q7 I suspect will be [unveiled] early next year."

A successor for the original Q7, which is now eight years old, is expected to be revealed before the Detroit motor show in January, and will reportedly shed up to 300kg compared to its predecessor, which weighs between 2375 and 2515kg.

But its technical highlight will be Audi's first diesel-electric powertrain, which couples Audi's 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel with a powerful electric motor and a rechargeable battery pack.

In line with its parent company's global policy, Audi Australia will focus on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), rather than hybrid vehicles that cannot be externally charged, such as the A6 Hybrid, which is no longer on its radar.

"A6 Hybrid… we won’t get it here," said Doyle. "We did the numbers at the time and the 2.0-litre proved more efficient."

Globally, Audi has confirmed it will launch at least four new e-tron badged PHEV models by 2017, including the Q7, A6 and A8.

“We strongly believe in plug-in hybrids and we will add a new model each year, beginning with the Q7 next year, followed by the A6 long-wheelbase sedan for China and the A8 around the world,” said Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler at the global A3 e-tron launch in June.

While the Q7's V6 diesel-electric system is expected to eventually power next-generation models based on the Audi-developed modular longitudinal platform (MLB) — including the A4, A6 and A8 — the A3 e-tron's four-cylinder petrol-electric powertrain could also power other Audi models based on the Volkswagen group's MQB platform.

For now, the e-tron treatment is reserved for the most popular A3, the Sportback hatch, priced from about $59,900 – about $25,000 more than the A3 1.4 TFSI upon which it's based.

But Doyle suggested Audi was selling more than just a car in its first e-tron.

“Yes, there’s a premium for the vehicle, that’s true," he said. "But I think overall the message is quite a strong one. It’s a good opportunity to sell a great story, and from Audi’s point of view, it’s a very openly communicated interim step. We’re not going fully electric as that offers a lot of compromises at this point in time."

Doyle said Audi's sales forecast for the A3 e-tron was relatively low, at between 10 and 15 cars a month via 16 selected dealerships, but the company had attracted more than 1200 expressions of interest in the car and cost of ownership would be a key selling point.

"Our volume expectations are modest, but I think we need to start to talk about the overall costs of ownership, and start to talk about the right profile of person who might, say, be using that car only for city driving during the week, or even a short amount of driving during the week, and can basically drive emissions-free.

"I think we have an average of a $2.50 charge rate -- about half the price of petrol [for a 50km trip] -- and even if they have to go further than that, they can get up to 940km with an average of 1.6L/100km.

"And when you put that together over a longer period of time, it does add up as quite a saving. It’s extremely efficient, it’s proven technology and it provide no compromise to the customer,”

At the other end of the A3 range, Doyle said demand for hot S3 models had exceeded supply, leading to waiting lists of more than six months, while A3 sedan and A1 sales were also restricted by slow supplies.

“There’s still a bit of a waiting time on the S3, the Sportback in particular. It’s about five to six or seven [months]. It’s just incredibly popular, but we’re pleasantly surprised as to just how popular it is. Our S and RS models are doing very well, more than 2013’s volume in the first six months of this year."

Audi will launch two new S models within the next three months – the S1 Sportback in September and the S3 Cabriolet in November.

But Doyle would not comment on the German brand's next RS model, the RS 3 hot hatch, which is expected to debut at the Paris show in a little over a month.

“There isn’t a confirmed RS 3 yet," he said. "When there is, we’ll be ready… that will go well in Australia.”

The third-generation TT will be Audi Australia's next major model release, in the second quarter of next year at the latest, but Doyle indicated the existing Q7 will soldier on for at least another year.

"We’re having great success with Q7 -- it’s somewhere around 1300-1400 [sales] this year, which is as good as we’ve ever done. It’s not in the same volume as Q3 and Q5, but it’s still quite healthy. It’s down four per cent year to date, but it’s doing well in its penultimate year," he said.

"We have eight years of customers that we’re talking to, and that’s something we didn’t have when we launched the Q7. So that’s a great thing for us. And I think they’re loyal customers too. They love our car, and they love the full-sized seven seats, and I think the new technology and the new design will be quite exciting for them.

"It [the new Q7] should be quite exciting... a lot of new interior technology, bigger inside, smaller outside, easier access to third row."

Doyle suggested an Audi rival for the BMW X6, dubbed the Q6, will follow.

"It’s an interesting one. People like the positioning of an SUV and if they can get that in a more sporty or dynamic profile, then that’s something Audi will look to offer in the longer term.

"We’re still pursuing the strategy that [VW Chairman] Dr Winterkorn announced in the early 2000s about niche models, and filling niches, because customers are getting more specific, not less specific, and premium brands can offer that, like the Allroad Shooting Brake -- they point to what’s possible, even if they don’t come."

Doyle said it was this expanding model range, including more SUV and e-tron models, that will help it overtake BMW as Australia's second most popular luxury vehicle brand.

Audi has more than tripled its local sales in seven years since 2007, when it sold just 7225 cars. This year it’s expecting to top 19,000.

That figure still places the Ingolstadt car-maker behind its two German arch-rivals, both of which sold more than 20,000 vehicles last year.

However, Audi is currently growing faster than both brands, with sales up more than 18 per cent to July this year thanks mostly to its new A3, compared to 9.2 per cent for BMW and 16.3 per cent for Mercedes-Benz, which could top 30,000 sales in Australia this year.

What's coming from Audi:
S1 Sportback – September
S3 Cabriolet – November
A3 Sportback e-tron – March 2015
TT – Q2 2015
Q7 – Late 2015
Q6 – Early 2016
Q1 – Late 2016