Audi changes model names AGAIN after split EV and ICE branding causes confusion

Having declared that all even-numbered Audi will be electric and odd-numbered ICE, Audi has changed its mind and reverted to the old nomenclature.

Back last summer, the new Audi A5 was revealed as a replacement for the Audi A4 because Audi had decided that they would denote ICE cars with odd-numbered badges and EVs with even-numbered,

It was all a bit confusing, but essentially it meant that 1, 23, 5 and 7 models would be ICE -based and 2,4,6 and 8 would be electric.

All that was just months ago, but it doesn’t seem to have gone down well with Audi buyers or dealers, so Audoi has dropped the new badging and returned to where it was before.

That means that the arrival of the new Audi A7 in March – planned as a replacement for the current Audi A6 – will arrive as an A6 after all. 

Marco Schubert, Audi’s Sales and Marketing boss, said:

This decision is the result of intensive discussions and also follows the wishes of our customers as well as feedback from our international dealers. Our nomenclature now provides all customers worldwide with an intuitive orientation in our portfolio. We choose the names of our models in a way that reveals size and positioning at first glance.

So now you’ll get a letter to denote the type of vehicle – like A or Q – and the higher the number following the letter the bigger the vehicle is. The fuel type will be denoted using the familiar e-tron, TFSI e, TFSI, or TDI.

Clear as mud?