Audi Going Back to Old Naming Strategy

Audi is undoing some of the changes it planned to make to its naming strategy in regard to all-electric vehicles. Rather than having separate model designations for gas and electric cars, it will revert back to simply having the latter use the e-tron suffix to avoid having to rename a significant portion of its existing lineup.

The brand isn’t exactly famous for issuing creative names for its vehicles. Like most German automakers, Audi has historically used alpha-numeric titles for the majority of its products. This helps delineate exactly where a model resides in terms of the company’s broader portfolio. While less popular outside of Germany, the strategy has occasionally been adopted by other companies because it doesn’t require a vehicle to be issued unique names for various markets.

In March of 2023, Audi announced that it would be scrubbing the use of the “e-tron” moniker as a way to identify its all-electric models. Not wanting them to be seen as separate from the core brand, the company stated that EVs would exclusively use even numbered names and gasoline-powered models would soon use odd numbers. For example, the Audi Q5 is powered by combustible fuels whereas the Q6 uses batteries.

While some of those changes had already been applied to Audi’s SUVs, as noted above, those were also the first models to see electrification. The brand’s cars are still undergoing their transformation — or they were, as the company recently decided to abandon that plan.

Audi says it no longer intends on reserving even or odd numbers for its vehicles and will revert back to the number simply indicating the size of a model in relation to the rest of the lineup. That means the A8 will still be larger than the A7. It likewise means products like the Q8 — which are already sold as both gasoline and electric models — won’t have to be split up. The electric version will simply carry around the preexisting e-tron name to help identify electrification.

The reasoning given is sound. Audi said that dealers and customers found the concept of using even and odd numbers to specify a model’s electrification status confusing.

It’s not hard to see why. The brand already decided to replace the A4 with the A5, despite both vehicles technically occupying the same segment. It also intended on giving the next-generation A6 the A7 name when it debuts later this year. But that apparently isn’t on the table anymore. It will remain the A6, with any all-electric variants to receive the e-tron tag.

Additionally, Volkswagen Group (which owns Audi) seems to be walking back plans to transition entirely to electric vehicles. Audi previously anticipated being an all-electric brand by 2033. But it has since suggested that the target may not be entirely realistic.

Despite potentially leaving some future gaps within its SUV lineup, this seems a wise decision to revert back to the old naming strategy. Trying to force the even-odd naming scheme would have required the company to double the number of model names it uses for vehicle categories and also rename several established products. It will be much easier to just use the e-tron suffix to identify all-electric models. You’re welcome to weigh in if you feel differently, however. Maybe Audi will change its mind again if enough potential customers demand the even-odd naming convention returns.

[Images: Audi]

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