Audi ute wanted in Australia

The humble dual-cab 4x4 ute could be about to get a serious luxury upgrade – and if it does, it’s all but guaranteed to be sold in Australia.

Earlier in the year Audi confirmed it was looking at adding a premium pick-up to its portfolio of luxury models, with CEO Markus Duesmann declaring the German car-maker was investigating the idea.

“I can't promise that we will do one, but we are looking into it,” he said.

If Audi green-lights its first ute, Australia would be a key market.

When talk turned to the idea of an Audi ute during the national media launch for the all-new RS3 hot hatch and sedan, Audi Australia corporate communications manager Shaun Cleary said: “Certainly in terms of commercial vehicles, Australia has a strong appetite as a broader market.

“So yeah, if there was ever an opportunity to consider something, I’m sure it would appeal to Australian customers,” he told carsales in response to more questions about an Audi ute.

Duesmann dropped the pick-up truck bombshell in March 2022, confirming the company was actively investigating a production ute and hinting that a concept vehicle is being readied to gauge customer interest.

“Actually, we will present – not too far from now – maybe something,” he explained.

It’s unclear how Audi intends to proceed as it studies the idea of a prestige ute bearing the four-ringed badge on its snout, but the German brand could leverage sister brand Volkswagen’s relationship with Ford to develop a vehicle based on the new Ford Ranger.

The upcoming second-generation Volkswagen Amarok shares all of its powertrains and Australian-developed T6.2 ladder frame with the Ranger, but wears an all-new body and interior.

The same approach could see a Ranger-based Audi ute produced alongside the new Amarok in South Africa, with only minor exterior and interior design changes but more equipment – and of course a higher price.

That’s how the short-lived Mercedes-Benz X-Class ute, which was heavily based on the latest Nissan Navara 4x4 dual-cab, came to fruition before it was unceremoniously axed due to the low global demand.

As such Audi – and its Volkswagen Group parent company –
will be proceeding very cautiously and could nix the idea if a business case doesn’t stack up without cannibalising sales of the new Amarok – a vitally important model for the German auto giant.

Complicating matters is the fact that Audi has promised to release its last petrol and diesel vehicles by 2026 before becoming an all-EV brand by 2032, meaning it will likely have to consider some form of electrification for any ute.

The new Ford Ranger’s redesigned platform that could underpin a future Audi ute is future-proofed for hybrid-electric powertrains, which would hold significantly more appeal for Audi than a sooty diesel engine.

“I think with a range as broad as ours already is, we’re focussing more so on the electrification of the brand and obviously we have full EVs now, and we’ll be talking about our first plug-in hybrids joining the range in Australia too,” said Cleary.

“Electrification is certainly our focus in terms of how we develop and focus the brand at the moment in seeing what’s available to us,” he added.

“We can’t talk specifically [about which models] but we are working on plug-in hybrid models for Australia as a further step of our electrification plans.

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

Another avenue open to Audi in its search for a profitable pick-up truck would be to develop an ultra-expensive, full-size all-electric ute to rival the likes of the Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T.

The latter strategy would make more sense from a luxury branding perspective as it would allow Audi to incorporate features, design cues and technology more familiar to existing customers and less familiar to Amarok buyers.

However, it would also be the more expensive option, even if Audi paired up with Ford to build an all-new pick-up based on the F-150 – North America’s top-selling model for decades.

Whether Audi will wade into Australia’s dominant one-tonne mid-size ute segment and take on global best-sellers like the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, or produce a more expensive full-size electric pick-up – if anything – remains to be seen.

But one thing is clear – the luxury ute is not quite dead yet.