‘New Chinese car manufacturer bringing another new car’ is pretty much a daily occurrence at this stage, and today, that headline belongs to hotshot new name AUDI. Not to be confused with Audi, despite being co-owned by the German one.
Earlier this year, it revealed its first production car in the form of the AUDI E5 Sportback, a 776bhp dual-motor high-riding saloon co-developed with Chinese market giant SAIC Motor. Hot on the heels of that car, it’s gearing up to put its second into production soon.
AUDI E SUV Concept, rear 3/4
That’s been previewed by this, the AUDI E SUV Concept, promised as a ‘near-production’ preview of an upcoming car sold exclusively in China.
No shock, it’s based on the same ‘Advanced Digitized Platform’ as the production E5, just quite a bit bigger, measuring 5.1m long, 2m wide and 1.8m tall. Although using a dual-motor quattro-branded system (Should that be QUATTRO?), power is down on the peak of the E5, with only 671bhp available in the E SUV, leaving it with a 0-62mph time of around five seconds. Horrendous, really.
AUDI E SUV Concept, front
It utilises the same 109kWh battery pack too, promising a range in excess of 430 miles according to the Chinese-standard CLTC cycle. Worth noting that it’s generally considered more lenient than the WLTP standard seen in Europe and the UK.
There’s also the AUDI 360 Driving Assist System on board, which has been designed specifically for Chinese traffic conditions to ‘enable a relaxed and safe driving experience’. Begs the question of what a UK-specific version of that tech could entail, perhaps automatic headlight flashing of middle lane hoggers on the M25.
AUDI E SUV Concept, rear
You’ll see the production version of the AUDI E SUV in 2026, albeit exclusively through the internet unless you happen to be visiting China. Curiously, there’s a new China-only, electric Audi A6 L E-Tron too, itself not an AUDI. Consider us confused.
Ryan serves as Editor of Car Throttle, having joined in 2023. On top of making sure everything is ticking over, you can read his takes on the latest new cars, some ways to spend your hard-earned cash in the used market, as well as the occasional JDM deep cut feature.
