The car brand to benefit from the electric car slowdown? Audi has the chance to be the number one German luxury brand in Australia as it launches new Q4 and Q6 e-tron and sets its sights on BMW and Mercedes-Benz

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.