Audi expands hybrid focus
BY COBEY BARTELS | 7th Oct 2024
WHILE many automotive manufacturers are condensing the number of models and variants within their line-ups, Audi aims to offer a car for everyone – including a growing array of powertrains across model lines.
In addition to an increasing number of mild hybrid (MHEV) options – as well as a new system Audi terms ‘mild hybrid plus’ – there will be a proliferation of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models alongside the battery electric (BEV) range.
As the German premium brand gears up for an onslaught of more than 20 new or updated models Down Under in 2025, Audi Australia product manager Matthew Dale told GoAuto that a mixed approach to propulsion is the goal.
“At the moment, we've got a balanced approach, obviously going back to that broader offer that we have across ICE (internal combustion engine), we're going into the mild-hybrid plus, plug-in hybrids,” he said.
“We do have a lot of electric vehicles, pure electric vehicles, coming too, and that's happening over the next 12 to 18 months.
“So we’ll have a full breadth of products for our customers, ranging from ICE to mild-hybrid to plug-in hybrid to battery-electric all in the same segment – so it’s about offering customers choice.”
While the number of battery electric vehicles (BEV) within Audi’s product arsenal is set to grow, hybrid models will remain a significant piece of the electrification puzzle for Ingolstadt's local arm.
“Obviously NVES (New Vehicle Efficiency Standard) is not a secret, but moving forward we still want to have the breadth of our range and offer customers choice – so PHEVs are part of that future strategy,” Mr Dale said.
“The main reason for that is one, they reduce emissions, but they also offer a choice for people who don’t want the full step to battery electric, and want a half-way point where they can still plug it in and go around town on full electric but also be able to do longer trips.”
Audi’s new breed of PHEVs will have larger battery capacities and, as a result, a longer electric-only range as the brand aims to keep up with the 100km+ potential of various Chinese PHEVs entering the Australian market.
“When we’re working in plug-in hybrids like the Q8 60 TFSI e (PHEV), we’ve upgraded the battery size, so we will see that pure EV range grow over time,” Mr Dale said.
“At the moment we’re around 50 to 60km pure EV, which is good for daily trips … but where that moves is close to 100km with larger batteries.”
When asked if Audi considers incoming Chinese models like the Tank 500 PHEV – likely to be priced well below $100,000 with an all-electric range of 110km – to be competitors, Mr Dale suggested the manufacturer continues to rival the established luxury marques it traditionally has done in Australia.
“I think we’re competing with a lot more competitors now than ever – obviously our traditional competitors being the three Germans – but Australian consumers obviously look at choice and other brands as well,” Mr Dale said.
“They don’t necessarily cross-shop the three Germans, they cross-shop in a much broader car parc, so we obviously look at what everyone provides to the Australian consumer – not just in the premium segments but obviously the team is also looking at the mass market as well.
“Technology is moving at a rapid rate, especially in electrification, and I think that’s where we consider any competitor that’s moving that technology forward.”
Speaking with GoAuto late last year, Mr Dale explained that Audi’s focus in Australia is on sporty plug-in hybrids – offering the “best of both worlds” by combining eco credentials and S-car performance.
“PHEV is not, for us, a natural stepping stone to BEV – it was always meant to offer the best of both worlds but we really wanted to focus on performance because of our customer base at that level,” Mr Dale said at the time.
Audi’s new mild-hybrid plus strikes a similar chord, taking its 48-volt mild hybrid system and beefing it up to offer more punch and improved efficiency.
The system features a 48V starter generator and larger 1.76kWh battery pack but also uses two electric motors that provide motivation for electric-only take-offs and a torque boost once moving.
“It’s not like a series or parallel hybrid, it’s actually got two motors … that can provide additional torque,” explained Mr Dale.
“Mild hybrid will still stick around, but it’s an evolution of that that will come out in other models, and as that then further evolves, you’ll see more and more models with that technology.”
The good news for fans of Audi’s performance-focused RS models is that the array of hybrid technology on offer will keep its racier models alive in Australia, despite looming NVES crackdowns.
“Basically the technology that we’ve currently got in the range, and the ones that are to come, like the mild hybrid plus technology and PHEVs in other segments, it does allow us to continue to give those RS models,” Mr Dale said.
