Audi Q5 e-tron is a Volkswagen ID.6 in drag

Audi has reskinned the Volkswagen ID.6 for Chinese buyers and unveiled the resulting Q5 e-tron at the 2021 Guangzhou motor show in China ahead of its launch next year.

Borrowing plenty of stylistic inspiration from the smaller Audi Q4 e-tron, the 2022 Audi Q5 e-tron is identical underneath the skin to the cheaper ID.6 that was launched at last year's Shanghai motor show.

That explains why the seven-seat SUV measures in at exactly the same 4876mm long as the ID.6 and has an identical 2965mm wheelbase.

For Chinese buyers demanding a little more luxury, the Audi Q5 e-tron will have a point of difference with the availability of a six-seat version, where a pair of individual captain chairs replace the second-row bench.

From launch there will be a 35, 40 and 50 version of the Q5 e-tron.

The base 35 model is equipped with a 132kW single motor and a 55kWh battery, while the 40 version gets an 83.4kWh power pack and 150kW.

Finally, the all-wheel drive flagship gets dual motors, 225kW and the same 83.4kWh cells.

While the Volkswagen ID.6 may one day be sold outside of China in markets that could include Australia (once the ID.3 hatch and five-seat ID.4 SUV have a firm footing), it's unlikely the Audi Q5 e-tron will ever venture Down Under.

That's because the Ingolstadt-based German brand is already developing a flagship larger SUV for our tastes – the upcoming 2022 Audi Q6 e-tron.

Unlike the Q5 e-tron that's underpinned by the MEB architecture, the Q6 e-tron will sit on the far more sophisticated PPE platform that will also be shared with the next-gen all-electric Porsche Macan.