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While Australians will be able to choose from three versions of the new A6 from July, including two petrol versions and one diesel, the petrol electric hybrid is not currently an option.
Audi in Germany has figured the biggest market for the hybrid A6 will be the US, so the car will only be built as a left-hand drive, at least for now. Australian customers are likely to get their first taste of an Audi hybrid when the petrol electric Q5 crossover wagon touches down in around a year from now.
A right-hand drive version of A6 hybrid could be added at a later date, but Audi Australia is not as keen for it as it is for the Q5 hybrid which is likely to be a far stronger seller.
Audi Australia managing director, Uwe Hagen, explains that the diesel A6 bound for Australia is so efficient it makes missing out on a hybrid less of an issue.
"When you compare this (diesel) with hybrid cars, there is no huge difference. Take the fuel consumption of an A6 3.0-litre (diesel), it will be around 6 to 6.2 litres per 100km, the C02 emission is under 160g/km.''
Hagen says Audi Australia would still import the A5 hybrid if it was made available because there are some customers who would like one despite the efficiency of the diesel. He feels the electric car will eventually be a better solution.
"Personally I think the future is the E car, the hybrid is only something in between,'' Hagen says. The hybrid A6 uses a new lithium ion battery pack that allows it to travel a short distance on electric power alone, but this is not such a great feature Hagen says.
"I don't want to criticise it, but it is running on just electricity for a range of 3km, which is the average with all those cars. With all respect, what can you do in 3km? You get your newspapers in the morning and you get your breakfast.''
Audi has focused heavily on cutting fuel consumption of all A6 models and not just the hybrid, introducing stop-start technology, which switches the engine off when you come to a stop, across all models along with an energy saving alternator.
"Every new Audi uses at least a 10-15 per cent less fuel consumption. This mandatory in our development,'' Hagen says. "In this way we are able to bring this to everyone and not just someone who wants to spend more money (on a hybrid).''
