Audi Q6 E-Tron News

Australians have a "strange love" for big wheels and option packs, according to Audi executives - and Ingolstadt is taking notice.

Audi has added its 'Sportback' coupe bodystyle to its Q6 e-tron and SQ6 e-tron electric SUV line-up, which the brand says offers more than just sleeker looks.

Audi's refreshed range gets price-tags ahead of full details later this year.

Electric car sales are still growing, but as the ‘early adopter’ phase comes to an end, the rate of uptake has slowed the past few months.Some brands have bet heavily on electric vehicles early in their explosive sales climb, this latest slow-down in pace might have actually handed Audi an advantage as its Q4 and Q6 e-tron SUVs finally arrive in Australia.Audi bet less heavily on EVs than its most direct rivals, BMW and Mercedes in the past few years. Rather than try to replace some of its most hallowed nameplates with electric versions, Audi instead added low-volume electric flagship offerings to its range in the form of the e-tron GT and now the Q8 e-tron.In Australia, the delayed launch of the Q4 e-tron has coincided with the arrival of the government’s new vehicle efficiency standards (NVES), giving it the leverage it needs with its international head office to expand its range of hybrid offerings to live alongside its new electrics.Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the Q6 e-tron, Audi Australia’s managing director Jeff Mannering explained how the game has changed in Audi’s favour.“It’s an overall strategy we’ve got now” he said of the brand’s new MHEV+ hybrid tech arriving at the same time as the Q6, “because what we have to think about is whether it’s just going to be battery electrics going forward.”“The market has switched around a little bit, I think the spike in battery electric sales where everyone was saying it was going to be fifty per cent of the market that’s simply not the case anymore.”“Q4 and Q6 are important because it adds volume to our battery electrics - we need that, and we need plug-in hybrids as well because the C02 targets are now there.”“You’re not so reliant on a BEV if you have a PHEV. It’s our clear direction to have something for every customer in every segment.”Not every brand has managed to navigate the tightrope of emerging technologies quite the same way. BMW has led the way with its competitively priced and well-received electric cars, although its plug-in hybrids have struggled. BMW leads the German three, amassing a whopping 25,341 units last year, nearly 30 per cent of which were electric. Over at Mercedes, plug-in hybrids were pulled from its range altogether after years of slow sales in Australia (although they will return), while its electric offerings have been shunned. It was down a notable 17.8 per cent last year, with its car division falling to 19,989 units.Audi remained in third position, moving 15,333 units. It was down a sizeable 19.5 per cent compared to 2023, which the brand is hoping its nearly entirely refreshed range will reverse in 2025.Not only has the Q4 and Q6 arrived, but they will be joined in the third quarter by the Q5 and A5, debuting the entirely new PPC combustion platform and MHEV+ technology. Other less significantly upgraded nameplates include the A1, A3, Q2, Q7, and Q8, all due before year’s end.As Mannering said, replacements or updates to some of the brand’s longest running models will give it a shot at more impressive sales volumes in 2025.“If you look at the lifecycle of our cars, some are up to their eighth or ninth year now - We’ll have the newest line-up in the market this year and it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to say that.”Will this range let it beat out Mercedes or even challenge BMW in 2025? Check in later this year to find out.

How Audi is able to have its V8 cake and eat it, too.

Electric off-road SUVs don’t have to be spiritless, according to Audi.At least that’s the gist of its recently-unveiled Q6 e-Tron off-roader concept that the brand is calling a “highly emotive” reimagining of Quattro, which is Audi-speak for its trademark four-wheel drive system.Poised as a potential vehicle in Audi’s future line-up, the concept EV could be unlike anything we have seen from the brand before, should it make production.Its 160mm lift and 250mm wider track compared to a regular Q6 e-tron make it look more like a monster truck rather than a luxury European SUV, while its Audi-developed portal axles give it genuine off-road ability.In fact, Audi said the prototype can comfortably climb gradients of up to 100 per cent — or 45 degrees — a feat typically reserved for souped-up V8 off-roaders such as the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series, Nissan Patrol Warrior and Land Rover Defender Octa.According to Audi, its off-road capability is a product of its powerful, fully-electric dual-motor powertrain, which delivers a total output of 380kW.In addition, Audi’s house-made portal axles enable a claimed power increase of 20 to 30 per cent to each wheel, while increasing available torque at the wheel by 50 per cent.Unlike regular axles, portal axles are integrated into the wheel hub assembly and are offset from the centre of the wheel to enable significantly more ground clearance.That means Audi had to fully rework the pre-existing suspension links from the Q6 e-tron, the SUV on which the concept is based.The result is a combined maximum torque to all four wheels over a 10-second peak is quoted by Audi at a staggering 13,400Nm, an increase of 4400Nm from the regular Q6 e-tron.Given the Q6 e-tron serves as the basis for the off-road concept, it too is built on Audi’s all-new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) modular EV platform, which it jointly developed alongside Porsche.The idea behind the Q6 e-tron off-road concept is to prove how versatile the PPE platform can be, and with a gaping void left by the departure of the A4 and A6 Allroad from the brand's line-up, it suggests Audi is genuinely serious about future off-roaders.

Why Audi is confident now is the right time for its dual-prong assault of Q6 and Q4 e-tron SUVs to make an impact.

Audi explains the outsized impact EVs have on its NVES targets, and how this will let it hold onto V8s for years yet.

Audi has revealed price tags for its three variant strong Q6 e-tron range.Arriving in early 2025 to sit above the delayed Q4 e-tron and below the monstrous Q8 e-tron, it is an electric alternative to its incoming new-generation Q5.The Q6 e-tron kicks off from $115,500 before on-road costs for its most affordable rear-wheel drive Performance version.From there, the all-wheel drive Quattro adds significant styling and equipment tweaks, bringing the price tag to $122,500, while the top-spec SQ6 sits at $151,400, all before on-road costs.The German brand said recently-revealed Sportback versions of the Q6 e-tron will arrive in late 2025, expect pricing for those versions to be confirmed next year.These price tags places the Q6 mid-sizer between BMW's iX3 and iX, and nearly neck and neck with other larger rivals, like the more performance-oriented Polestar 3.On the topic of the Q6 price-tag Audi Australia’s head of product, Matt Dale, said: “We’re a premium competitor, so we look at the value in the premium segment relative to our range and our competitors. We’re not a brand which is going to drop prices overnight. The reason why we’ve set the pricing where we are is that it’s a sustainable business model.”Audi considers the Q6 e-tron its most important car in a decade, as it is the vehicle which globally debuts the brand’s new PPE architecture. Not only is it an upgrade from the J1 and MLB Evo platforms which underpin its previous electric cars, but it brings with it a fresh slate of features from its 800-volt electrical architecture, to new suspension components.Importantly it also has a new battery, offering up to 641km of WTLP range (in the furthest travelling base Performance spec) according to European specifications.Additionally, and despite its large 100kWh capacity, the 800-volt PPE electrical architecture allows the Q6 e-tron to charge up from 10 - 80 per cent in just 21 minutes from a compatible DC charger thanks to its 270kW.Audi says the Q6 e-tron can add up to 255km of range in just 10 minutes due to its fast-charging curve which keeps near-peak power for longer.The base Q6 e-tron Performance is rear-wheel drive, with a motor producing 225kW/485Nm, allowing a 0-100km/h sprint time as low as 6.6 seconds.It comes standard with features like 19-inch alloy wheels, matrix LED headlights, an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.5-inch multimedia touchscreen, electrically adjustable front seats with memory for the driver, heated front and outboard rear seats, a heated steering wheel, tri-zone climate control and a 360-degree parking camera suite.Next up, the Q6 e-tron Quattro offers all-wheel drive, with an increase to power outputs to 285kW/580Nm and a reduction in the sprint from 0-100km/h to 5.9 seconds. It also scores an upgrade to 20-inch alloys as standard, an S-Line exterior and interior pack, consisting of a bespoke bumper design and grille, dark contrast accents down the sides and at the rear, an S-Line steering wheel, black headlining, aluminium pedals, and illuminated door sills.Finally, the top-spec SQ6 ups power significantly to 360kW/580Nm, reducing the 0-100km/h sprint time to a claimed 4.4 seconds (or 4.3 seconds using launch control).In terms of equipment, the SQ6 adds the otherwise optional metallic paint options and adaptive air suspension, as well as 21-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, OLED tail lights (with eight different animated designs to be chosen from), a panoramic opening sunroof, an augmented reality head-up display system, a Bang & Olufsen 3D audio system, colour ambient interior lighting, an electric steering column, and sport seat designs in Nappa leather with message functions.Audi has also packaged together various optional items, particularly for the Performance and Quattro grades. The ‘Tech Pro package’ ($4900) adds adaptive air suspension, electric steering column adjust and OLED tail lights, while the Premium package ($8,900) brings a panoramic sunroof, AR heads-up display, Bang & Olufsen sound system, ambient interior lighting, acoustic glazing for the front windows and higher-power USB C ports.Two Style packages are available, one for the Performance and one for the Quattro respectively. On the Performance, this pack comes in at $5,500 and adds S-Line exterior highlights, 20-inch alloy wheels, and a black exterior package with privacy glass.On the Quattro, this pack instead costs $3600 and adds 21-inch alloy wheels, a black exterior package, and privacy glass.The Q6 will be covered by Audi’s array of ownership terms, which includes a five-year and unlimited kilometre warranty, six years of roadside assist, an eight-year and 160,000km warranty for the battery and a one year subscription to Chargefox. The brand also confirmed service intervals will be in 24 month increments.The Q6 will be one of the first models to launch as part of a massive catalogue refresh for Audi over the course of 2025. The brand says it will launch 20 new or updated cars in the next 12 months, including other key models like a new-generation of its best-selling Q5 mid-sizer and the A6 electric car which is claimed to have “class-leading” driving range.Additionally, Audi will add more mild hybrids to its range of combustion cars and dive further into low-emissions tech with a new drivetrain it dubs mild hybrid plus, involving a more powerful electric motor which assists the transmission in providing power to the wheels.Stay tuned for more Audi news imminently.

Audi has revealed a sleeker Sportback version of its Q6 e-tron electric SUV, which increases driving range by 15km to an impressive 656km.