Audi Q4 e-tron in limbo

The all-new Audi Q4 e-tron broke cover more than a year ago and set tongues wagging due to its striking design and 500km-plus driving range.

But Audi Australia still hasn’t locked in the stylish premium mid-size electric SUV, which offers a WLTP range of 520km, for local release.

Expected to be priced at around $80,000 if it gets the nod for Australia, the Audi Q4 e-tron and would finally give the German brand a crucial sub-$100K EV to combat the popular new Tesla Model Y and other battery-powered luxury SUVs such as the smaller Mercedes-Benz EQA.

Audi Australia’s pioneering electric SUV, the larger Audi e-tron Sportback and wagon, is currently priced from $139,900 and has found just 67 Aussie homes in the first half of 2022 – down from 69 in the same period last year.

But despite the state of play around EVs changing rapidly and with Australia’s reputation as an EV pariah market now starting to thaw, the Audi Q4 is still no closer to arriving here.

“It’s not yet confirmed and there’s no timeframe,” Audi Australia’s corporate communications manager Shaun Cleary told carsales.

The new Audi Q4 e-tron is in high demand in more mature EV markets, which puts Australia at the back of the queue for the German-built model, but Cleary said Audi Oz had not given up on selling it Down Under.

“We’re still working on that car with headquarters. Obviously it’s very popular globally, given its positioning in the market. Certainly we’re very interested and continue to work on bringing that car to Australia.”

Available in wagon and sleeker Sportback body styles overseas, plus three different powertrains and two battery choices, the Q4 e-tron is about 16 centimetres shorter than the Model Y (4590 v 4750mm).

While that might mean it’s classed as a small SUV in Australia, it would almost certainly be cross-shopped against the Chinese-built mid-size Tesla SUV.

If it can get its hands on supply, Audi Australia would most likely take high-spec models, which would exclude the smaller 52kWh battery and entry-level 125kW/310Nm single-motor powertrain.

More likely is the larger 77kWh battery, offered with either higher-output (150kW/310Nm) single-motor or 220Nm/460Nm dual-motor powertrains, delivering cruising ranges of 520km and 487km respectively.

Unlike the current pair of Audi EVs on sale in Australia, the e-tron SUV and the e-tron GT grand tourer, the battery-powered Q4 is the first Audi based on the VW Group’s dedicated-electric MEB platform architecture, which also underpins various Volkswagen, Skoda and Cupra electric vehicles.

The Audi Q4 e-tron shows off a striking new exterior design while introducing a suitably futuristic interior fit-out and is available with a range of premium features.

Asked if the new Q4 e-tron’s Australian introduction was a case of ‘if’ rather than ‘when’, Cleary responded “We’re certainly hopeful”, but he did confirm a range of plug-in hybrid models were enroute to Oz.

“We can’t talk specifically about which models are coming but we are working on plug-in hybrid models as a further step of our electrification plans,” said the Audi exec.

The Audi Q5 TFSI e plug-in hybrid is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder augmented by a 105kW electric motor and 14.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack, giving it a 73km EV range (WLTP).

It is expected to be one of Audi’s first new PHEV models to arrive here following the axing of the A3 e-tron and Q7 e-tron plug-in hybrid vehicles some years ago.

“We would certainly look at models that are doing well in the context our of broader range, regardless of drivetrain. In terms of body styles and sizes certainly there’s an established pattern there, so a Q5 PHEV would be of interest as would others,” said Cleary.

“Now we have the opportunity to really expand our range a little bit with hybridised drivetrains so that’s our focus in the medium term.”