During the launch of the Audi Q8 2024, RPM has learned that Audi will begin rolling out a new naming strategy for its vehicles. Until now, names with an even number were reserved, in the case of cars, for classic sedans, while those with an odd number (A3, A5, A7) were intended for coupes or vehicles with a configuration was less traditional.
As for SUVs, they used odd names while the brand’s first electric models simply bore the name e-tron. With the proliferation of electric vehicles, Audi needed a strategy better suited to the brand’s new reality; we can also see that the manufacturer has started to deploy this strategy.
According to what we have been able to learn, the even names will be reserved for electric vehicles; this is already the case with the Q4 e-tron, and it is also for this reason that the German manufacturer has renamed its flagship e-tron electric SUV for 2024 as the Q8 e-tron. We will then use the same strategy for cars. It’s a safe bet that the e-tron GT will soon bear the name A8 e-tron if we follow logic.
As for designations with an odd number, they will be reserved for vehicles equipped with a thermal engine. We can therefore expect a significant upheaval in models and perhaps even the disappearance of several vehicles that have long been part of the identity of the Audi range. Clearly, this change will bring a little confusion over the next few years, but it must be admitted that this was already the case at the moment with all the brand’s new products.
The end of the development of gasoline engines in 2026
We also learned that the manufacturer will stop developing its thermal engines from 2026 to focus on electric. Audi will continue to sell gasoline vehicles after this date, but it will cease technological development. Audi plans to sell only electrified vehicles around 2035.
The brand is investing massively in the electrification of its vehicles. If some people deplore the abandonment this year of sports models like the Audi TT and the R8, it seems that the manufacturer intends to make a comeback in the coming years.
