Audi Q8 News

Audi has revealed its next electric SUV, dubbed the E7X, but it’s not Audi as we know it.Instead, the E7X comes from the German luxury brand’s tie-up with MG owner SAIC in China.Styled AUDI, models from this joint venture dump the four-ring logo in favour of typeface only. The E7X is its second model after the E5 Sportback which hit the Chinese market earlier in 2025.What sets the AUDI models apart from their four-ringed counterparts is their use of SAIC platforms. For example the E5 and E7X share their underpinnings with models from the Chinese brand’s IM arm, which are sold in Australia badged as MGs.At over five-meters long, the E7X is even larger than the German brand’s Q8 e-tron, and it features an over-three-meter long wheelbase, suggesting generous interior dimensions. Two versions have been announced, a rear-wheel drive version which produces 300kW/500Nm and an all-wheel drive version which adds a 200kW motor on the front axle, and produces a total torque of 800Nm. Its battery capacity and driving range are yet to be revealed.Like other Chinese domestic market models, the E7X features a detailed LED light feature in the front, an illuminated logo, and similar light detailing for its rear lights. It offers enormous wheels in either 21- or 22-inch sizes, as well as trendy flush doorhandles, and a LiDAR pod on its roof. Interior images are yet to be revealed, although the car will likely follow in the footsteps of the E5 before it and look unrecognisable from Audi’s international range.The E5, for example, features a dash-spanning array of screens with Chinese-market specific software, a minimalist centre console and stripped-back steering wheel design. Like the E5, the E7X also features the option to have camera-based wing mirrors, which expand on the already massive screen real-estate on the interior.The Audi E7X is set to be fully revealed at the Beijing Motor Show in April and will go on sale in China shortly afterward.Audi’s SAIC joint-venture is regarded as a success in China, with the E5 amassing over 10,000 pre-orders as soon as it went on sale.While the E5 may remain a Chinese domestic market option, the E7X nameplate has been registered in Europe, suggesting Audi is considering overseas markets for the JV models.This comes with the backdrop of Audi’s Volkswagen parent company lobbying the European Union to relax tariff structures so it can bring Chinese-built models to Europe.The EU introduced tariffs in 2024 in order to protect domestic automakers from a torrent of lower-cost Chinese vehicles which it claimed at the time were unfairly subsidised by the Chinese government.According to industry source, Automotive News, VW Group is hoping the EU will grant it an exemption from what is currently a 20.7 per cent tariff.Volkswagen, which has been active in joint ventures in China for longer than most global car companies, gambled on new global models in China prior to the EU’s tariffs being introduced.For example, the Cupra Tavascan (which is built in a joint-venture with JAC and rides on the same MEB platform as the ID.4) is built in Anhui province with the original plan to sell it in Europe and abroad.If VW Group can secure an exemption to these rules, it opens up the opportunity for it to export more Chinese-built models, like the E7X and the upcoming large three-row Volkswagen based on the ID. Era concept which was revealed earlier in 2025.

Audi is swimming against the electric car tide, launching its flagship RS Q8 Performance super SUV in Australia with the most powerful V8 the company has ever given birth to.The RS Q8 is the sportiest version of Audi's flagship five-seat Q8. The RS Q8 Performance has taken things further, with a twin-turbo V8 making more grunt than any other in the company’s history with an output of 471kW and 850Nm. That’s an increase of 30kW over the outgoing RS Q8.That’s enough oomph to hurl the 2.2-tonne SUV from 0-100km/h in a supercar-like 3.6 seconds. The RS Q8 has also set a lap record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife of 7:36.698. Pulling the RS Q8 up fast are huge 440mm ceramic front brakes in 23-inch five-spoke alloy wheels.   A freshly redesigned exterior with carbon-fibre grille frame, mirror caps, redesigned matrix LED headlights and new tail-lights make the RS Q8 look as mean as it is quick.Standard features inside include Nappa leather upholstery, RS sports front seats with heating and ventilation, four-zone climate control, brushed aluminium trim elements, a 17-speaker Bang and Olufsen sound system, a panoramic sunroof, power assisted doors, and a power tailgate.The price, however, is a little bit more expensive then the outgoing model with the RS Q8 Performance listing for $255,800 before on-road costs, an increase of $27,500.That's a little pricier than the 460kW BMW X6 M Competition ($250,900 before on-road costs), but less than the Mercedes-AMG GLE63 S Coupe 4Matic+($275,300 BOC).

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.

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