Audi Q5 PHEV under study for Australia

Audi Australia is gearing up for a second tilt at the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) market as it works towards an all-EV line-up within about a decade.

The 2023 Audi Q5 PHEV is on the radar of the German prestige brand’s local product planners as they look to capitalise on increasing interest in electrified vehicles – and await key battery-electric models such as the Audi Q4 e-tron that won’t be arriving here until 2024 at the earliest.

Audi Australia director Jeff Mannering said the Q5 PHEV that’s available overseas is on the hit list for the brand locally.

“We’re talking about it,” said Mannering, admitting “Q5 might be a PHEV we’re thinking about … it’s an opportunity”.

While executives didn’t wholly confirm the Q5 PHEV for Australia just yet, it’s clear lots of thought and effort has gone in to evaluating its suitability, suggesting the model is a high probability to come here.

Key to its chances was a 2021 update that increased the size of the battery pack, in turn increasing the WLTP driving range between charges to 73km – about double the distance an average Australian motorist drives each day.

The Q5 e-tron also uses a 2.0-litre turbo engine and a 105kW electric motor driving through a seven-speed automatic. There are two versions, the 50 TFSIe with a combined peak power of 220kW and the 55 TFSIe with 270kW.

Audi Australia product planning chief Matthew Dale said PHEV is a key transition technology in the inevitable shuffle to pure-electric vehicles.

He argues the charging infrastructure that is in its infancy across what is a vast country could make PHEVs more appealing in the medium term.

“PHEVs do have their position in the market,” said Dale. “Rural customers that may not have infrastructure, a PHEV might be the right vehicle for them.

“There is a consumer for a PHEV vehicle that wants the best of both worlds.”

The car-maker offered a PHEV version of the A3 – the Audi A3 e-tron – in 2015 and 2016 before transitioning to the Audi Q7 e-tron in 2017 and 2018.

Neither were big sellers and were quietly shelved as the technology continued to evolve, one issue being a sub-40km real-world EV range between charges.

The ultimate goal for Audi is a range of battery-electric models, something that is taking a while to materialise in Australia.

The Audi e-tron GT is more than a year late and the Q4 e-tron is yet to be confirmed, leaving the regular Audi e-tron to battle on in a price bracket that is above the sales meat of the market.

Dale argues that hybrid and PHEV drivetrains are key to the transition to an all-EV line-up, which for Audi is scheduled to take place in the early-to-mid 2030s.

He says there’s still solid demand for vehicles fuelled by internal combustion engines (ICE).

“We’re in a transition period … there’s still a customer for that [ICE vehicles],” said Dale, pointing to the breadth of the Audi range.

“We’ve got everything from A1 right through to A8, Q2 right through to Q8 … petrol and diesel … we’ve got an extremely broad range of customers we’re talking to.”

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