It’s been a good week for Audi. First came the news that over 1.4m vehicles had been shifted bearing their famous four-ringed guise, and that was followed by the reveal of an all-new SUV.
SUV’s are not new territory for Audi, they already offer the Q3, Q5 and Q7 with the size of the vehicles in ascending order the Q1 is set to continue that trend and take it’s place as the smallest member of Audi’s ever-expanding SUV family. No bigger than an A3, the Q1 has all the hallmarks of a vehicle that will go far in a market that’s going bananas for 4x4s.
It’s been suggested the vehicle will launch in 2016, and plans have apparently been given the green-light at the beating-heart of Audi in Inglostadt. The Q1 will be marketed as more luxurious than any of those currently on the market - think Nissan Juke, VW Polo SUV. It is with such bold claims as these that the Q1 is expected to instigate greater growth for the Audi brand in the SUV sector.
The vehicle will rest on the MQB Platform designed by Audi’s parent company Volkswagen, and the engine range is expected to be similar to that seen in the A3, although the 1.0-litre in the A1 is also reportedly on the cards.
The Q1 was announced with a throng of other scoops, including a new and improved Q5, and a super-luxurious Q8. Audi want 50% of their sales mark-up to come from SUVs, and with the latest announcements this no longer seems unreasonable.
Away from SUV's Audi also used the recent conference as a platform to announce the A8 and a vehicle hoping to de-throne Tesla slated for release in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
