Audi made a significant announcement on Monday regarding a change in its naming scheme for vehicles. The company has decided to have both internal-combustion and electric vehicles share the same nameplates.
Initially, Audi had planned to assign odd-numbered designations to combustion models (such as A5 and Q5) and even numbers to EVs, in addition to the E-Tron suffix. However, this plan has been revised.
Audi stated in a press release that numbers will now only indicate a model’s size and position in the lineup. The letters A and Q will continue to differentiate between cars and SUVs, rather than powertrain type, allowing electric and combustion models to share the same alphanumeric combination.
2025 Audi SQ6 E-Tron
Audi confirmed that powertrain-specific branding like E-Tron, TFSI, and TFSI e will continue, along with body-style nomenclature such as Sportback and Avant.
According to Audi’s sales and marketing boss Marco Schubert, this change in nomenclature is a result of customer feedback and will make it easier for customers to understand the lineup.
In addition to enhancing customer understanding, the revised naming scheme will accommodate the introduction of numerous plug-in hybrids by Audi as a strategic move in the ever-changing EV market.
2025 Audi Q5
The upcoming gasoline Audi A6 will be the first model impacted by this change, as it will now be labeled as A6 TFSI. Its electric counterpart will retain the A6 E-Tron name.
Although these models will share a name, they are likely to be built on different platforms. The A6 E-Tron will use the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), while the gasoline A6 is expected to utilize the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC).