Audi has already announced new model launches from 2026 will be fully electric as 2025 will be the final year when the German luxury brand is going to introduce a new car with a combustion engine. That doesn’t mean the company’s traditionally ICE-powered models won’t be joined by an EV sibling as the Four Rings have already hinted at this strategy with the A6 E-Tron concept.
It looks as though the smaller A4 could get a zero-emissions version to sit alongside the conventional gasoline- and diesel-fueled model. Speaking with British magazine Auto Express, Audi’s head of technical development, Oliver Hoffman, was asked whether an A4 E-Tron is possible during the next generation of the vehicle’s life cycle. While he didn’t say yes, his statement is a strong hint that it could happen:
“We are really happy to have a strong partnership within the Group – with Porsche for PPE [platform], with VW for MEB [platform], and our own platform, the MLB. We have the power to develop and produce dedicated platforms for most technologies.”
Reading between the lines, an A4 EV seems like a good possibility, but Hoffman cautioned Audi has already looked into a platform that can accommodate both types of powertrains and found it to be a “compromise.” The architecture in question is likely MLB, which was originally conceived for cars with combustion engines before being adapted for electric models like the E-Tron and E-Tron Sportback large SUVs.
Should an electric A4 receive the proverbial stamp of approval, it can only mean it will ride on the PPE platform. The first production models to use the new underpinnings will premiere next year when Porsche will debut the next-generation Macan (EV-only) while Audi will come out with its equivalent vehicle, the Q6 E-Tron. The aforementioned A6 E-Tron will also ride on the PPE platform, but it will arrive later this decade.
Auto Express speculates that even if Audi green-lights the A4 EV, it’s unlikely to arrive at the same time as the conventionally powered model, which is earmarked for a 2023 release. A more feasible scenario is the latter half of the decade, although that might be a bit too late since BMW is already putting the finishing touches on a 3 Series EV. At the same time, Mercedes has confirmed it will eventually launch an electric equivalent of the C-Class.
Source: Auto Express
