SPY PICS: Audi Q6 e-tron on the move

The all-new 2022 Audi Q6 e-tron has been spotted testing for the first time, with the development vehicle snapped by our spy photographers in Europe looking like it’s getting close to production.

Audi has already confirmed the Q6 e-tron will share plenty with the upcoming electric Porsche Macan, with both new SUVs based on the Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE) underpinnings.

Expected to launch next year, the Audi Q6 e-tron is expected to slot in between the Q4 e-tron (which shares the MEB underpinnings of the Volkswagen ID.3) and the larger Audi e-tron.

Despite its heavy disguise in these photographs, it’s clear the Q6 e-tron will share much of its larger e-tron sibling’s design language, including angular bodywork and slim, sharp LED headlights.

At the rear-end, the tail-lights are expected to take on a slightly different shape to that of the e-tron, although the same full-width LED light bar – albeit hidden underneath camouflage on the development mule – appears to carry over.

There’s no tailpipe here, which is an obvious reference point for its EV powertrain, while other points of interest include a wide, closed grille design and large gloss black wheels and chunky tyres.

The new PPE platform is likely to bring 800-volt charging functionality, which would allow the electric Audi Q6 e-tron and Porsche Macan EV to withstand rapid DC charging.

An electric driving range of more than 500km on a single battery charge is also expected, with dual electric motors on top-spec models set to deliver as much as 390kW or potentially around 439kW in top-spec grades.

That’ll also make for impressive performance figures, including an expected 0-100km/h sprint time of less than 4.0 seconds.

As we’ve previously reported, Audi says the new model will be built in the German manufacturer’s Ingolstadt factory, and powered by batteries produced in a nearby facility.