New all-electric Audi SUV won't be called Q6

Audi’s first electric SUV is unlikely to carry the Q6 name after all, it has been revealed.

Unveiled in concept form in 2016 as the Audi Q6 e-tron quattro SUV, the car was expected to carry the alphanumeric name into production. However, speaking at the Geneva motor show today, brand boss Rupert Stadler cautioned that the name could be dropped “as it sets price expectations”.

“We would like to push e-tron as a brand, and we don’t want to limit the nomenclature for the car," he said. "Calling it Q6 fixes the price in some people’s minds, just as calling a car Q8 does. I don’t want to set those limits.”

Although Audi is at the forefront of premium manufacturers launching battery-electric SUVs, it is expected to be beaten to market by the Jaguar I-Pace. 

Audi’s car will be built on a development of the electrified platform Porsche is using for its Mission E electric saloon. Its electric motors will produce close to 496bhp, it will have a range of around 500km (311 miles) and is expected to cost around £60,000.

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