Audi admits A4 being dropped for A5 shouldn’t have happened

2026-02-03 - 10:06

Audi has admitted that its model nameplate restructuring involving the A5 replacing the A4 has been a mistake. Reversing Back in 2023, then CEO, Markus Duesmann, said Ingolstadt would introduce 20 new or updated products by 2025, of which half would be electric. ALSO READ: EV-only future scrapped as Audi U-turns on going fully electric As part of the move, all even numbered models would become electric, while those with an uneven numbers would use combustion engines with some sort of electrical assistance. Audi dropped the A4 name after 30 years in 2024 following the decision to replace it with the A5. Picture: Audi This meant the end of the A4 after 30 years replaced by the A5, while the A7 made way for the all-electric A6 e-tron. Months later, though, the supposed all-new A7 reverted to the A6 name as an alternative to the A6 e-tron. All-new generation A6 should have been the new A7. Picture: Audi At the same time, Audi also dropped the confusing “power number” denominators introduced in 2017, which replaced the traditional engine displacement indicators as a result of the EV move. ‘We made a mistake’ Speaking to Australia’s drive.com.au, current Audi boss, Gernot Dollner, said the new A5 would become A4 when the first round of updates takes place. “We will go back to our old nomenclature: A is for flat-floor cars, Q is for SUVs, and then the number describes the size of the car or the segment of the car, full stop,” Dollner said. Plug-in hybrid next RS5? With the introduction of the A4 as an EV now seemingly over, the switch back to combustion power will, reportedly, also have an impact on the next generation RS5. According to carscoops.com, the performance variant will use a plug-in hybrid powertrain modelled on the previous generation’s 2.9-litre bi-turbo V6. The step-up from the pictured new S5, the RS5, will reportedly become a plug-in hybrid and will eventually be known as the RS4 after the first round of updates. Picture: Audi A layout planned for the incoming next generation RS6 as well, the RS5 could debut later this year, as testing is currently taking place. In response to Dollner’s confirmation, though, expect the “new RS5” to eventually become RS4 once the standard model’s first update arrives. Locally, the new A5 is powered solely by the 2.0 TFSI engine in two states of tune, 146kW/340Nm and 200kW/400Nm. The flagship S5, for now, isn’t available. NOW READ: New names coming as Audi confirms mass 20 vehicle roll-out