All-electric Audi Q6 teased, flagship Q8 SUV confirmed

Audi is set to spawn several new models in the coming years as part of its €24 billion investment plan which would see a total of 60 different vehicles being introduced by the end of this decade – and the onslaught has already begun. Teased at its annual press conference is the upcoming Audi Q6, an all-electric crossover that will sit on the same MLB platform as the new Audi Q7.

According to Autocar UK, Audi chairman, Rupert Stadler, has pegged the Audi Q6 to arrive in showrooms, by the earliest, in 2018. As for its (electric) heart, the Q6 is expected to feature a battery pack that’s supposed to pack more juice than the 90 kWh output touted by the new Audi R8 e-tron – close to 100 kWh is likely.

As enticing as its shapely, Audi prologue-inspired looks are, the bluffer Q6 SUV is expected to have an operational range that lags behind the R8 e-tron with a figure of 293 km being mentioned – still a realistically useful figure. Further technical details remain scarce but the twin electric motor setup will, in true quattro fashion, send power to all four corners of the Audi Q6.

When it goes on sale, the Q6 will compete against the likes of the BMW X6, Range Rover Sport, Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe and the Tesla Model X – the latter due to arrive some time soon this year, apparently. “It will be something new, following designs established on the Prologue concept,” comments Ulrich Hackenberg, chief of Audi’s R&D department. “The Q7 will be a car for seven people, the Q6 will be more coupe-like.”

Meanwhile, Audi has also confirmed the existence of the Audi Q8 flagship SUV, adding that the crossover is “progressing through a development programme that aims to have it on sale within the next three years.” The Audi Q8 is aimed squarely at markets such as China, the Middle East and North America, where demand for large SUVs continue to soar.

The flagship SUV is set to arrive with a turbo’ed 3.0 litre petrol V6 on entry-level models and top out with the addition of a twin-turbo 4.0 litre V8 on the RS Q8 variant. In between, a range of V6 and V8 diesel and petrol mills will be offered alongside a plug-in hybrid and an all-electric version. Indicative pricing begins at £50,000 (RM279,724), which stretches to £90,000 (RM503,503).

GALLERY: Second-generation Audi Q7