Audi works on high-end pick-up
Motoring
AUDI could be about to follow Mercedes-Benz down the premium ute pathway. Reports out of Japan claim the German brand is working on a onetonne ute that will wear the brand’s famous four-ring badge.
That is the word from Japanese scoop site Spyder7, where reports have now surfaced that work on an Audi Q6-styled pick-up is underway.
Excitingly, the news suggests the new model will be built using the same platform that underpins the new Ford Ranger and its twin, the VW Amarok, meaning proper offroad credibility and load-lugging ability, all dressed in a shiny Audi suit.
The reports suggest the new model will be an electric-only offering, with the new
Ford Ranger and Amarok already set up for an electric vehicle (EV) future.
Ford Motor Company vehicle programme director for Icons and Ford Performance Ali Jammoul recently told “CarsGuide” that all avenues of electrification are being explored for the Ranger.
“The T6 platform is a really good platform in itself,” he said.
“And you can electrify the platform, and we have proven on the F-150 Lightning that you can take an internal combustion engine platform and electrify it.
“Whether that’s in the plan or not, I can’t tell you. But (T6.2) certainly is capable of electrifying — whether it’s a hybrid electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid EV or complete battery EV.”
If these reports prove accurate, the move would see Audi follow Mercedes-Benz into the premium ute space, following the ill-fated X-Class.
Billed as the world’s first premium pick-up, the X-Class was intended to break new ground for the German giant in the worksite and lifestyle space.
The Nissan-based ute was launched in Australia in April 2018. But by May 2020, it was gone, having been plagued by lacklustre sales, among other reasons.
How lacklustre were those sales? Put it this way. In 2019, MercedesBenz sold 15 300 X-Class utes worldwide, and just 2 186 in Australia. Toyota, on the other hand, sold 47 759 examples of the HiLux in Australia alone. It was an expensive mistake for Mercedes-Benz (a brand that does not make many, to be fair). While the brand has never revealed the total sum, the marketing, promotion and media activity alone would have been a very big number, and that is before you even talk about engineering and production. But if these latest reports prove correct, then the X-Class’ demise will not deter Audi, which will, instead, push into the all-electric space with an ute that should combine genuine toughness with a premium look and feel. In fact, back in March, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann was asked whether an Audi pick-up was possible, to which he replied: “I can’t promise that we will do one, but we are looking into it. Actually, we will present — not too far from now — maybe something.”