What’s in a name

For those not conversant with automotive naming conventions – and even some who are – getting your head around specific models details can be a little confusing at times. For Audi’s increasing range of vehicles, all-new model series, different drivetrains and the acronyms or model names used to describe them – petrol (TFSI), diesel (TDI), Plug-in Electric vehicle (e-tron), hybrid-electric (TFSI e) – naming conventions can seem to take on a life of their own.

The most recent attempt to clarify the distinction between electrified models and those powered by combustion-engines – naming even numbers for the former and odd numbers for the latter, was not up to the task. So as the brand’s stable of vehicles continues to expand, a new global naming convention has been adopted to help customers understand quickly and easily what each model represents and where it sits within the Audi family – outlining the size of the model and their positioning within the range based on driveline and performance.

“This decision is the result of intensive discussions and also follows the wishes of our customers

as well as feedback from our international dealers,” says Marco Schubert, Member of the Board

of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. 

“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.”

From now on, model names will simply consist of one or more letters and a number. The well known A and Q designations continue to signify the distinction between more conventional vehicles and SUV models – or low-floor and high-floor vehicles to use industry speak. The numbers – currently ranging from one to eight – pinpoint where in the Audi family the particular model sits, independent of the type of powertrain that drives it.

Using this system means that even all-electric models can share the same combination of letters and numbers with combustion-engine vehicles and the necessary differentiation between models and variants in the portfolio comes down to describing the body style, whether that be Avant, Sedan, or Sportback. And the already well established powertrain code, which denotes the type of drive – e-tron, TFSI e, TFSI, or TDI – and the familiar and coveted S and RS designations still point to performance models.

Coming up early next month, the first new vehicle to use the revised naming protocol will be the new Audi A6 – a long-time favourite model with a combustion engine that will now exist alongside the brand new all-electric A6 model due to arrive in Australia around the middle of this year. 

So the A6 Avant TFSI premiering in early March – petrol-powered Avant body style – is easily differentiated from the A6 Avant e-tron, with its all-electric drivetrain.

There will be no retroactive name changes for models already on sale, but from now on, this simple and familiar naming convention will identify each new model. That means that the new Audi A5 range for example – which effectively combined the Audi A4 and A5 lines into a completely new model line – will remain. Made up of all-new five-door Sedan and Avant variants, these completely new vehicles in both A and S configuration will arrive Down Under in the first half of the year.

These latest changes to the naming convention should feel intuitive to long-time aficionados of the brand and be easy to adopt for those new to Audi. But while this new naming system will help identify exactly what each Audi model is and where it sits in the overall Audi family of vehicles, the choice of which model will best suit you and your lifestyle still rests with you. For assistance with either, the experts at Audi dealers around the country are there to help.