Here’s Audi’s next A5—and all the stuff we won’t get in the US

Enlarge / Audi has a new platform for internal combustion engine vehicles, which will include the third-generation A5. (credit: Audi)

MUNICH—Although the world's automakers are in the midst of a great electrification, some of the more ambitious timelines for ditching the internal combustion engine are now looking quite unrealistic. That's due to a number of factors, but the relative lack of charging infrastructure and the still-high cost of lithium-ion batteries are both contributors. With ICE still on the menu for at least the next decade, Audi has developed a new platform, and the first model to debut will be the next Audi A5, due in US dealerships by next summer.

Now it’s a sedan

Audi's long-term model nomenclature recently went through a bit of a change. In the past, even-numbered cars like the A4, A6, and A8 were (mostly) sedans, and odd-numbered models (the A5 and A7) were different body styles, including five-door fastbacks—known as sportbacks in Audi-speak—but also coupes and convertibles. (The exception to this has been the station wagon variants, aka Avants, which were A4s and A6s.)

Forget all that. From now on, all even-numbered Audis are battery-electric vehicles, with odd-numbered Audi designations reserved for gas, diesel, and hybrid cars. (The same applies to the Q-designated SUVs and crossovers, but more on those in a few weeks.)