Audi is in the middle of a 24 billion euro investment plan that it hopes will transform it into the biggest premium car company in the world by 2020. However, while the four-ringed brand is keen to expand into SUVs, its CEO Rupert Stadler is less interested in minivans.
The Audi family is poised to grow from around 50 models to 60. But beyond that, they want to take baby steps. The TTQ small SUV-coupe has apparently not been approved for production.
During a recent interview with Automotive News, Stadler revealed the TTQ has not been approved for production. According to him, they are awaiting the development of the second generation MQB platform, so we won't see a crossover version of the TT until at least 2020.
Despite the positive response people gave the Prologue Avant Concept, Audi won't make a big A8 Avant. Rupert says there isn't enough global demand to justify such a car.
Despite high demand in America, Audi won't make any minivans. He defended this decision by stating that customers are willing to pay more to buy a crossover because high-riding models are cooler. The more emotional the buying response is, the higher the risk of making a profit. Just look at Porsche.
After the Q7, Audi will launch a diesel-powered SQ7 later this year. With the Q1 crossover coming in 2016 and the Q8 a few years after, we pretty much know how Audi's 60-car lineup will look. However, there's still room for a few more new Sportback models, the CEO says. Could we get an A3 Alltrack or a more hardcore version of the S3 Sportback? Let's hope so.
During a recent interview with Automotive News, Stadler revealed the TTQ has not been approved for production. According to him, they are awaiting the development of the second generation MQB platform, so we won't see a crossover version of the TT until at least 2020.
Despite the positive response people gave the Prologue Avant Concept, Audi won't make a big A8 Avant. Rupert says there isn't enough global demand to justify such a car.
Despite high demand in America, Audi won't make any minivans. He defended this decision by stating that customers are willing to pay more to buy a crossover because high-riding models are cooler. The more emotional the buying response is, the higher the risk of making a profit. Just look at Porsche.
After the Q7, Audi will launch a diesel-powered SQ7 later this year. With the Q1 crossover coming in 2016 and the Q8 a few years after, we pretty much know how Audi's 60-car lineup will look. However, there's still room for a few more new Sportback models, the CEO says. Could we get an A3 Alltrack or a more hardcore version of the S3 Sportback? Let's hope so.