After years on the sidelines, Audi is lastly getting ready to enter the full-size luxurious SUV section. The primary-ever Q9 is one thing of a late bloomer, contemplating Mercedes has been promoting the GL-Class (later GLS) since 2006. BMW adopted in 2018 with the X7. The section is particularly aggressive in North America, the place consumers also can select a Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, and others.
Information of the Q9 was confirmed this week by Audi’s improvement chief, Geoffrey Bouquot, in an interview with Automotive week. Whereas he didn’t disclose specifics, now we have it on good authority that the luxobarge will probably be supplied solely with combustion engines. Against this, the subsequent BMW X7 (“G67”), due in 2027, may also spawn an electrical iX7. That gained’t be the case for Ingolstadt’s largest SUV.
The 12 months 2026 will probably be a busy one for Audi, with the next-generation Q7 additionally scheduled to debut. BMW is doing the identical with the brand new X5 (“G65”), which can acquire an electrical variant dubbed iX5. Audi’s revamped Q7 will share its platform with big-brother Q9, an structure that doesn’t assist EVs.
Audi has already axed the Q8 E-Tron lineup as a consequence of weak demand, leaving BMW’s iX5, iX7, and iX with out direct competitors from Ingolstadt within the electrical area. In the meantime, Bavaria is ready to increase its presence within the section with an ALPINA model of the subsequent X7, accessible with each combustion and electrical drivetrains. That mannequin is rumored to hold a separate codename, “G69” as a substitute of “G67,” doubtlessly signaling higher differentiation.
Though Audi as soon as pledged to go totally electrical by 2032, the model has since walked again that formidable goal. Launching the Q7 and Q9 with combustion engines makes it clear that ICE fashions will stay properly into the subsequent decade. We wouldn’t be shocking if conventional drivetrains persist into the 2040s. BMW has lengthy argued that consumers shouldn’t be pressured into EVs, standing by its “Energy of Alternative” technique.
That mentioned, the Neue Klasse will considerably speed up BMW’s electrification push. As soon as the lineup is totally rolled out, Bavaria can have extra EVs on provide than Audi, however not on the expense of combustion engines. Gasoline and even diesel automobiles will stay a part of the portfolio for the foreseeable future. In actual fact, the subsequent X5 has already been confirmed with diesel energy, and the X7 is predicted to observe go well with.
Supply: Automotive week (subscription required)