Audi News

China sells nearly double the entire yearly Australian new car market in just one month

Audi appears to have avoided a potential sales disaster, despite a decline in buyers. The German brand has managed to pivot away from plans to push hard into the electric vehicle market, dropping plans to end its internal combustion engine development as soon as next year. This could prove a crucial moment in the brand’s history and allow it to regain lost ground to Japanese rival Lexus.

Audi is hoping more power is the key to unlocking more sales for its e-tron GT electric sports sedan.

Volkswagen Group seems to be in the midst of developing and launching a series of small electric cars to satisfy its European markets, according to reports.

One of Audi’s most popular models is getting a modern makeover.The big news is the Audi Q3 isn’t going all-electric, instead it will use petrol power with mild hybrid assistance and plug-in hybrid grunt.Audi isn’t giving up on diesel either with an oil-burner variant confirmed for Europe.The base mild-hybrid petrol, which is a likely starter for Australia, uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with mild-hybrid tech and produces 110kW.This is joined by purely petrol motors that make 150kW and 320Nm and a 2.0-litre unit that makes 195kW and 400Nm paired with all-wheel drive.A 110kW/360Nm diesel engine caps off the internal combustion engine variants.Sitting at the top of the range is the plug-in hybrid version, which pairs a petrol engine with an electric motor for a total of 100kW/400Nm.This is combined with a sizeable 25.7kWh battery, which can deliver an electric-only driving range of 120km as tested under the benchmark WLTP cycle.It can be charged at up to 50kW via a DC fast charger that can top up the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in under half an hour.Audi claims it has done substantial work on the suspension to improve the driving dynamics and a smoother commute.The Q3 sports a fresh face, with a big bold grille featuring lattice work design, big side intakes and sleek headlights with pixel LED styling. This is added to broader shoulders and a sleek side profile and curvy panel creases.The Q3 will be rammed with active driver aids and hi-tech features, including a 12.8-inch multimedia display and a 11.9-inch digital driver display. Included in the new safety tech is the controversial driver attention warning, which uses a camera to watch the driver for signs of drowsiness or a lack of concentration. In other brands this tech goes off for menial reasons such as looking at the rear-view mirror or squinting into the sunlight.The new Q3 will launch in Europe later this year, with an Australian arrival likely for the first half of 2026.

Audi has globally revealed the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of its new, third-generation Q5 mid-size SUV ahead of a launch in European markets in the third quarter of 2025.Available in both Q5 and Q5 Sportback guises, the PHEV powertrain is offered with two different system output tunes – 220kW/450Nm and 270kW/500Nm. This is unchanged from the previous-generation model, with Australia only getting the higher tune.Both new Q5 PHEVs feature a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 185kW and an electric motor integrated into the dual-clutch automatic transmission.Audi claims the 220kW version can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.2 seconds, whereas the 270kW version can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.1 seconds. Both claims are regardless of the body type.A big change with the new-generation Q5 PHEV is it now gets a larger 25.9kWh (up from 17.9kWh) battery pack that’s claimed to offer up to 100km of electric range, according to WLTP testing.The previous-generation Q5 PHEV only offered 55km of electric range, according to lenient NEDC testing.The peak AC charging rate has been increased from two-phase 7.4kW to three-phase 11kW. This allows the battery charge to charge from 0-100 per cent in 2.5 hours.In addition, Audi has increased the regenerative braking performance. The car’s electric motor can now recover up to 88kW of power when slowing down and feed this into the high-voltage battery.Audi claims 90 per cent of the deceleration process can now be done by the electric motor regenerative braking, meaning the hydraulic wheels braked are only used for harder braking manoeuvers.There are now also three levels of regenerative braking that can be chosen with the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. There’s also an automatic mode that uses navigation data to predict how much regenerative braking to use.Two drive modes are available, EV and hybrid. The former operates exclusively on battery power at speeds up to 140km/h until the charge is depleted.Hybrid mode, on the other hand, operates strategically to choose which energy source is the most efficient depending on how and where you’re driving. In the city it’ll use EV power and at higher speeds it’ll use the petrol engine.Like many PHEVs, the car is capable of charging the battery using the petrol engine when on the move. Below speeds of 65km/h the battery charge is maintained, but above this speed the battery can be charged up to 75 per cent.As standard the car comes with sport suspension, 19-inch alloy wheels, red brake calipers, under centre console storage, 15W ventilated wireless charger, two USB-C ports in the front and rear, tri-zone climate control and sport front seats with leather/artificial leather upholstery, and sliding and reclining second-row seats.Opting for the 270kW version gets you LED headlights ‘plus’ and LED tail-lights.Boot space for the regular Q5 PHEV is 438 litres with the second row upright, expanding to 1358 litres with the seats folded.With the Q5 Sportback PHEV, on the other hand, it has 433 litres of boot space with the second row upright, expanding to 1300 litres with the seats folded.Pricing for the Audi Q5 PHEV in Europe starts at €63,400 (~A$113,200), and extends to €74,300 (~A$132,650).At this stage it’s still unclear if or when the new Audi Q5 PHEV will be coming to Australia. We’ve reached out to Audi Australia and will update this story once we hear back.The outgoing Audi Q5 55 TFSIe PHEV first arrived locally back in 2023 and is offered in both regular wagon and Sportback body styles.The regular combustion-powered third-generation Q5 range still hasn’t launched in Australia yet, despite it being revealed in September last year. It’s still expected to arrive in the second half of 2025.

Audi's best car you might never drive?

Audi has announced prices for the new-generation A5, which has landed in Australia with a completely new design and armed with the latest technology, but its arrival means the end of era.The pressure is piling on Audi with the brand discontinuing its internal combustion variants of the A4 and putting all its faith in the new-gen A5 to compete against BMW's 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class. Just to add to the pressure it is also understood this A5 may well be the last version fitted with an internal combustion engine. So this new generation A5 could be a significant one, possibly the last of its kind.With that in mind let’s look at the just-released A5 pricing. The A5 Sedan kicks off the range at $79,900 and steps up to  $114,900 for the sporty S5 sedan. A wagon bodystyle or Avant will only be offered in the S5 grade and for $117,900. A special Edition One of both the S5 sedan and S5 Avant will also be offered at launch for $99,900 and $102,900, respectively.The A5 now begins at about $10,000 less than before, but it's also $8000 more expensive than the previous entry fee into the outgoing A4.Standard features on the A5 sedan include 19-inch alloy wheels, Matrix LED headlights, proximity unlocking, a power tailgate with gesture control, sport seats with leather upholstery power adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, three-zone climate control, a 14.5-inch OLED media display and an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster, there’s also Apple CarPlay Android Auto and wireless phone charging.Powering the A5 Sedan is a turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine making 150kW and 340Nm with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.Stepping up to the S5 brings more standard features including 20-inch alloy wheels with red brake calipers, Matrix LED headlights with digital OLED tail lights and privacy glass. Coming standard inside is Nappa leather upholstery with diamond stitching, heated and ventilated front seats with massaging function, there are also here heated second row outboard seats, a heated steering wheel, a head-up display ambient lighting, a Bang & Olufsen sound system and a 10.9-inch media display for the front passenger.The S5 Edition 1 comes with extra features including black 19-inch alloy wheels with a five-spoke design, S exterior styling with black elements and gray Audi ring badging, while inside there are heated sports front seats with integrated headrests, stainless steel pedals, a flat top- and bottomed steering wheel, plus microfiber accents and S embroidery throughout the cabin.The S5 is powered by a 270kW/550Nm six-cylinder turbo petrol engine and has Audi's quattro all-wheel drive system delivered through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The S5 also comes with sports suspension with adjustable dampers and a brisk acceleration time with 0 to 100km/h done and dusted in 4.5 seconds. Audi Australia Director Jeff Mannering says the new A5 is a combination of innovation and performance.“The introduction of the new Audi A5 and S5 range highlights our dedication to delivering innovation, luxury, and performance. These vehicles epitomise Audi’s progressive spirit, setting new standards within the premium segment and offering Australian customers a truly compelling proposition in terms of technology, design, and dynamic driving experience.”

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It’s started again - the talk about how autonomous cars are just around the corner.But are self-driving cars really going to be with us any time soon? Because it feels as though carmakers have been promising autonomous vehicles for a long time now, yet it seems like we’re still no closer to owning a vehicle that can drive us home or to work.Despite this, many car brands think autonomous vehicles are on our doorstep. Is that true? And if so, do we really want to let them in?Volkswagen’s global CEO of Commercial Vehicles Professor Dr Carsten Intra believes they are indeed imminent. “You think that going from combustion to electrification is a big change?” Dr Carsten asked Australia’s auto media last week at the Volkswagen Multivan launch. “And it is, but going autonomous will change our business. This is coming, it's in front of the door. Not just in 10 or 15 years, it will be sometime tomorrow. We are going through the world and testing our fleets in different cities.”Dr Carsten is referring to the fleet of self-driving ID. Buzz electric vans being tested by Volkswagen through its special autonomous company MOIA.Fitted with autonomous tech for full-self driving (but with a human babysitter on board) VW is testing the ID. Buzzes in the United States and Europe. The fleet has just been to Oslo, Norway for winter testing in snow and ice. The self-driving ID. Buzz has a high level of autonomous ability, level 4 actually, a level down from the fully autonomous Level 5 which doesn’t need a human chaperon. This is the level Volkswagen hopes to reach by 2030. These levels from 1 to 5 are just increasingly sophisticated forms of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Most new cars are at Level 2 and have systems that can take over steering, braking and acceleration.But Level 5, which can handle any situation without driver input, is much more complicated. While it may work in theory or on a closed circuit, what about on the Pacific Highway in Sydney at 8:30am on a Monday?So with 2030 less than five years away and as a journalist who has written story after story as car company after car company has made promise after promise of autonomous vehicles, I can tell you that the chances of fully autonomous cars driving on Australian roads by 2030 are close to zero.Forgive me for being jaded, but the autonomous car dream is and probably will always remain a dream. I wasn’t always so pessimistic about this. Back in 2016 I was very excited to write a story for CarsGuide about Ford’s bold claim that it was so far advanced into mastering autonomous tech that they’d have self-driving cars everywhere by 2021.“Ford will be mass producing vehicles with full autonomy within five years and that means there will be no steering wheels, no gas pedals and no brake pedals - a driver is not going to be required," Ford’s then global chief Mark Fields announced.Well it’s 2025 and these pedal-less, steering wheel-less driverless cars are nowhere to be seen.Ford isn’t the only one. Most car companies in the past 10 years have said they are on the cusp of autonomous breakthroughs from Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Audi to Volvo and Hyundai.Well they used to say that and many companies made bold claims, just like Ford’s, that they, too, would have autonomous cars in just a matter of years. But most of the car manufacturers have gone quiet on the topic of self-driving cars. All except Tesla with its so-called full self-driving function which is very likely just advanced driver assistance and not full self-driving. Actually in recent weeks Tesla has had to re-think what it calls its driving system due to regulatory issues in China.Tesla’s claims of having full-self driving modes 10 years ago probably caused the rest of the industry to suddenly work harder and faster on their own autonomous projects only for all of us to reach this point where we’ve discovered that you can absolutely teach a car to drive, but setting it loose on public roads is going to create a multitude of problems from safety and legal to ethical dilemmas. Besides, Volkswagen isn't the first to have fleets testing in cities. Ride-hailing companies such as Waymo have been working on autonomous tech for years only to run into operational difficulties with cars getting lost or even attacked.Until recently Waymo's fleet of autonomous taxis has operated in just the United States with San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin being the main cities where the service can be found. Now Waymo is going further afield to Japan and is using Tokyo as its first location outsided the US to test the autonomous tech.Waymo will have been testing and operating its fleet of autonomous cars for 10 years in 2026. An achievement in itself and while the technology has come far it hasn't been without inicident. There have been cases where Waymo vehicles have malfunctioned or become confused. Two years ago in Phoenix 12 Waymos all turned up in the same street at the same time and caused a traffic jam, while last year in San Francisco a car park being used to hold dozens of Waymo vehicles erupted into chaos as the empty cars began honking at each other for no apparant reason.Hiccups aside it's truly amazing how well Waymo's fleet of electric Jaguar iPace SUVs can navigate through complicated terrain such as hilly San Francisco with its myriad of streets. Waymo has also recently signed a new deal with Chinese carmaker Zeekr to use its electric Mix people mover in 2025.Volkswagen's own testing with its ID. Buzz fleets will indeed add to the advancement of autonomous tech, too.Progress is slow, however, and for good reason - safety, regulations, ethics and the unpredicatability of other road users present huge challenges for a technology that's expected to be as good, if not better, than humans. Volvo is a safety tech pioneer in the auto industry and one of the first to start developing autonomous systems. But in 2023 Volvo Cars CEO and President Jim Rowan made a startling admission: self-driving cars won’t happen anytime soon.  "So first of all, this big myth that there's five different levels of autonomy is nonsense, in my opinion," he said. "You've got two levels of autonomy. One is your hands on the steering wheel. One is your hands off the steering wheel."Can we drive a car fully autonomous? Yes. Does regulation allow that? No. So I think regulation will be the barrier towards full adoption of full AD more than technology," he said.“Driving inside the city when there's schools and roadworks, and there's a lot of change every day, I think that's a long, long way off.”So if the boss of the company which was so far ahead in developing fully autonomous cars has declared the mission more or less over for now, what’s caused Volkswagen to make its autonomous claims? Well, we’ll have to wait and see but I think we’ll be waiting a lot longer before we start seeing.