Audi revamps model names (again)

Audi is tweaking the way it names its cars – again.

In 2024, the German carmaker announced that it would be naming petrol and diesel-based cars with odd numbers – A3, A5 and so on – and reserve even numbers, such as A4 and A6, for electric vehicles (EVs). 

However, the company has now backtracked on that idea, and will revert to names based solely on the car's size and positioning. "This decision is the result of intensive discussions and also follows the wishes of our customers as well as feedback from our international dealers,” said Marco Schubert, Audi's member of the board of management for sales and marketing.

Reading between the lines, that suggests that both customers and dealers were unimpressed by the idea to divide the range by powertrain, and feared it would get confusing.

From now on, the letters A and Q will continue to denote non-SUV and SUV cars, while the numbers between one and eight will show how big a car is – the larger, the bigger. All-electric models can share the same designations as combustion vehicles, but the technology powering the car will be explained using the already-established codes that include E-tron for electric, TFSI for petrol, TDI for diesel and so on.

In other words – as you were.