Audi has not been performing well lately. Sales fell 11.8 percent last year to 1,671,218 vehicles and did not rebound in the first nine months of 2025. During September, shipments continued to decline, falling 4.8 percent to 1,175,765 units. This is despite the launch of several new core products, including the A5, Q5 and A6. The revamped Q3 hasn’t had time to move the needle since it only debuted on the market in September.
The onslaught of Ingolstadt products is far from over. While we wait for the production version of Concept C The sports car will arrive in 2027Next year will be busy. In a document prepared for investors after the third-quarter results, Audi previewed what’s to come. In 2026, three major cars are scheduled to debut: the next-generation Q7, the first-ever Q9, and an entry-level electric car.
It seems that Audi has learned its lesson after relying heavily on electric cars, which led to the cancellation of the Q8 E-Tron and the closure of the Brussels factory where the large electric SUV was manufactured. The upcoming Q7 will retain its combustion engines, while the larger Q9 will also have gas engines. TDI versions should not be ruled out in Europe, where diesel engines remain suitable for larger luxury cars.
The affordable electric car will slot below the Q4 E-Tron and is expected to be a pseudo-revival of the A2, but exclusively electric. Like the next SUV (Unfortunately) It will not adopt Audi’s new design language Concept c. Since vehicle designs are typically finalized two to three years before launch, these three models will retain the current design theme, likely featuring split headlights and screen-heavy interiors.
In addition to the new models, Audi is also preparing RS derivatives for existing cars. Although the company hasn’t specified which one will come in 2026, the RS5 seems like a safe bet. Since Audi has ruled out four-cylinder RS models and inline-five is approaching retirementThe next RS5 will likely be powered by a V-6.
It’s unlikely to be a pure petrol model, since emissions regulations certainly require a certain level of electrification, meaning a plug-in hybrid setup is a possibility. The RS5 will be offered in both cars (technical bounce) And wagon body styles. The next RS6 could also appear next year, most likely as a PHEV and hopefully with a larger V-8 engine. It wouldn’t be convenient for the RS5 and RS6 to share the same number of cylinders.
We wouldn’t be surprised if the electric RS6 isn’t among the “high-performance RS models offering maximum driving dynamics” that Audi promised investors. A recent report suggests that the RS6 E-Tron could be the case Dead on arrivalWith reasonable concerns about poor sales potential. However, a company spokesperson recently told us that RS models are planned for the Premium Platform Electric (PPE).
Looking to the future, Audi wants to please both camps by continuing to offer a broad mix of combustion engines and electric vehicles. The company has backed away from its previous plan to go fully electric by 2033, with CEO Gernot Döllner recently suggesting that ICE models could remain in production well into the next decade.
This is perhaps the smartest approach in these turbulent times, when customer preferences are more divided than ever.
