Audi could also be near deciding on whether or not to place into manufacturing a rugged electrical SUV to go up in opposition to comparable fashions within the luxurious section like upcoming electrical variations of the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
The knowledge was reported on Thursday by Autocar following an interview with Marc Lichte, Audi’s design chief.
Lichte reportedly stated there was house for such a automobile from Audi since there have been solely two actual alternate options within the premium section, i.e. the fashions talked about above. He additionally reportedly stated Audi wants such a automobile given its profitable historical past in off-road racing—one thing that continues even within the electrical period with the RS Q E-Tron off-roaders entered within the Dakar Rally lately. The RS Q E-Tron program serves as a testbed for growth of electrical all-wheel-drive techniques, referred to by Audi as Quattro 2.0.
Curiously, Audi on Thursday revealed the Activespherr idea, a coupe-like crossover with a tall trip peak and a rear mattress full with a dropping tailgate.
Audi Activesphere idea
Autocar posits that any rugged Audi SUV would trip on an electrical body-on-frame platform being developed by fellow Volkswagen Group model Volkswagen for its upcoming Scout SUV and pickup truck. The Scouts are due in 2026 and shall be constructed within the U.S., and it is possible any Audi SUV sharing a platform with the Scouts would additionally share a plant.
There’s hypothesis VW is trying to outsource manufacturing of the Scouts to a contract producer like Foxconn or Magna. Magna’s Magna Steyr subsidiary in Austria is the corporate that builds the G-Class for Mercedes and likewise helped developed the automobile.
A senior Magna government in September stated the corporate is looking for a location to construct an EV plant within the U.S.
In line with Autocar, the brand new Audi may very well be launched round 2027 if its growth is given the inexperienced mild. Keep tuned.