The Audi A4 has been in service in this form since 2016, the sedan, as well as its allroad variant, which has received some slight redesigns over the seasons. In short, the automaker’s representative in the sports sedan segment is due for a complete overhaul before the mandatory switch to electric drive, with that change scheduled for the 2023 model year.
At the time of writing, Audi isn’t saying too much about the next generation of its popular sedan, but British site Auto Express did get some details following an interview with Audi’s head of technical development, Oliver Hoffman.
The sedan will continue on the MLB platform, which favors a longitudinal positioning of the engine under the hood, unlike the MQB architecture that places the engine transversely.
Audi‘s top brass also confirmed that the next A4 will be equipped with next-generation internal combustion engines, which are considered the most advanced in the brand’s history. In Europe, the turbodiesel option will still be offered, but in North America, expect the return of a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder unit backed by a 48-volt mild hybrid system. The logical alternative for this next A4 would be to add a plug-in hybrid livery, as Audi already offers this type of powertrain in the Q5, but also in the A7 and A8.
We should not neglect the S4 livery either, or even the upper echelon RS4 reserved for the European market. Oliver Hoffman also told the British publication that an A4 e-tron is possible, but with the current platform (MLB), the development of the car would have some challenges. When the cycle for this next A4 is completed, somewhere towards the end of this decade, the automaker will be able to call upon an architecture developed for an electric powertrain.
After all, earlier this year at the Shanghai Motor Show, Audi unveiled the Audi A6 e-tron concept, a not-so-distant vision of the next Audi A6 based on a new PPE (Premium Platform Electric), the latter of which is expected to serve as the basis for a multitude of models within the Volkswagen Group’s luxury divisions.
