The fightback begins! Audi lands Q4 and Q6 EVs with more PHEVs and hybrids to follow as it challenges Benz and BMW

March 6, 2025March 5, 2025 Iain Curry 1059 Views 0 Comments audi e-tron, audi PHEV, audi q4, Audi Q6

Audi Australia’s EV sales have been far from stellar since the luxo German brand introduced its e-tron SUV in 2020, but the just-landed Q4 and Q6 electric SUVs offer much needed reinforcements.

Old rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz have surged ahead, offering EVs in higher-volume and cheaper segments, while Audi’s been trying to shift giant Q8 e-trons (from $153,984) and sporty e-tron GTs (from $181,784) – just check out price cuts on ex-demo versions to witness uncomfortable resale reading.

Of Audi’s 631 EV sales last year, well over half were of the brand new Q4 compact EV SUV priced from $84,900 that only hit dealerships very late in the year. It comprehensively shaded the Q8 and GT.

BMW, meanwhile, sold a total of 7787 EVs in 2024 and Benz 2603.

Audi’s fightback comes as the electric Q8 exits stage left: its production facility in Belgium closed its doors last month.

Audi Q8 e-tron 50 — The Audi Q8 e-tron large SUV makes way for smaller Q4 and Q6 EV SUVs this year.

The more affordable and popular segment players have now taken up the baton.

The Q6 e-tron medium SUV is priced from $115,500, joining the slightly smaller Q4 e-tron with its two models under the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold and are therefore eligible for fringe benefit tax (FBT) exemption with a novated lease.

As the government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) zooms into view this year, Audi’s electrification diversity suddenly looks very smart indeed.

The new BEVs join Audi’s Q5 and Q8 plug-in hybrids, while its new 48-volt mild hybrid system (MHEV+) will land later in 2025 in the new Q5 and A5. Unlike many mild hybrid systems, it allows short slow speed driving on electric only.

More PHEVs are under evaluation, including a Q3 (the brand’s best-selling model in Australia), while plug-in versions of the A3, A6, A7, A8 and Q7 are available overseas.

Audi Australia director Jeff Mannering told EV Central that diverse electrified offerings were a positive path for the brand.

“It’s consumers that actually tell you what they want to buy,” he explained. “We’ve got a clear strategy in every segment: a BEV, a PHEV and an ICE (internal combustion engine). We’re able to bring in the mild hybrid+ with the ICE cars which helps us; we’re second in the premium PHEV segment with Q5, and now for the first time we’ve got our A-segment (compact) Q4 EV, so it’s an important car.”

Addressing NVES compliance, Mannering said Audi’s expanding portfolio helped the brand cover off future market trends.

“If you’ve got alternatives you can play with different mixes,” he said. “If the BEV market slows down a little bit, you can increase PHEVs. I think PHEVs will have a bigger part to play (in future) because you can get the best of both worlds as PHEVs can now do 100 to 120 kilometres.”

Let’s hope the 2026 Audi Q5 PHEV bumps range up a bit from the current 55km then.

Back to the Q4 EV. Audi hopes it’ll become a serious player in the sub-Luxury Car Tax threshold space.

Costing from $84,900 before on-roads, it compares favourably to a slightly larger BMW iX3 RWD ($91,000). It’s on par with a Mercedes EQA 250+ ($85,800), but costlier than a Polestar 4 ($78,500), the smaller Volvo XC40 Pure Electric ($76,990), and BMW iX1 ($80,600).

Overseas sales bode well for Audi. In 2024 the Q4 was the UK’s second best-selling EV (behind the Model Y), and in Germany it was their most popular prestige EV, trumping the BMW iX1 and Mercedes-Benz EQA.

But why has the Q4 taken so long to land? It’s been on sale and doing well in Europe since 2021. Does Audi Australia regret waiting for this facelifted 2025 model before introducing it here?

“Is it a regret?” pondered Mannering? “It would have been nice to have the car, but I think we would have been in a different situation.

“If you go back two or three years, there was probably anxiety about range and how do I charge? Now we’ve the latest technology, range anxiety’s probably not there anymore, because most Q4s are 500km range plus.”

Helping with EV acceptance, Audi offers its Q4s with a one year Chargefox subscription for public charging. But also, as a launch offer, a complimentary home charging AC wall box is also offered with installation through JetCharge.

There’s no set end time on this offer, and it is suited for what Audi says is 95 per cent of its customers. Only if it’s a more complex fit (three-phase power or extra cable length needed) would it incur extra costs.

“We’ve looked at the holistic customer experience,” explained Audi Australia’s product planning boss, Matt Dale. “Range and charging were a big thing for our Australian customers, and we looked at bringing a premium offering for home charging as well.

“It’s a big topic when fuelling these cars, because it’s a complete paradigm shift from what people are used to with ICE cars.”

Iain Curry

A motoring writer and photographer for two decades, Iain started in print magazines in London as editor of Performance BMW and features writer for BMW Car, GT Porsche and 4Drive magazines. His love of motor sport and high performance petrol cars was rudely interrupted in 2011 when he was one of the first journalists to drive BMW's 1 Series ActiveE EV, and has been testing hybrids, PHEVs and EVs for Australian newspapers ever since. Based near Noosa in Queensland, his weekly newspaper articles cover new vehicle reviews and consumer advice, while his photography is regularly seen on the pages of glossy magazines.