Smaller ‘Q’ SUV A Possibility, Says Audi

When Audi came out with the Q2 (pictured above), we thought it would be the smallest of SUVs that the Ingolstadt-based car manufacturer would ever produce. Now, however, Audi’s sales and marketing chief Bram Schot has hinted that there could be one more, smaller SUV in the pipeline. We think it could be called the Q1 as it is expected to be a crossover based on the upcoming Audi A1 hatchback.

The upcoming A1 hatchback and the Q1 crossover will be based on VW Group’s modular MQB platform. The A1 hatchback has been undergoing testing and is slated to be launched in global markets towards the end of 2018. Unlike the previous versions, the new A1 is expected to be a five-door-only hatchback as sales of three-door hatchbacks seem to be on the downfall in its primary market - Europe. Currently, the A1 and the Q2 are some of the cars from Audi’s global portfolio that are not sold in India. While the Q2, which is expected to be launched in late 2018 or early 2019, will sit below the next-gen Q3, the Q1 could be offered as a rival to other 5-seat SUVs such as the Hyundai Tucson and the Jeep Compass. The Q1 is slated to enter production in Germany in 2021, so it’s quite a few years away from an India launch.

Meanwhile, Audi is set to launch the Q8 coupe-SUV in global markets towards the end of this year. So, we can expect the flagship Audi SUV to make its way here in 2019. Apart from this, the company is also working on a smaller coupe-SUV, which is likely to be called the Q4 and is slated for a 2019 launch. Even this could be offered here as the SUV segment is growing at an unprecedented rate and every carmaker across the world is eyeing a piece of the pie, especially when it comes to the Chinese and Indian passenger car market.

Don’t expect Audi to stop at that, it’s also planning a slew of performance SUVs such as the SQ2, the RS Q5 and an RS Q8 for the near future. The German carmaker has also been eying the electric car market with the E-Tron quattro SUV. Now that the company has piqued our interest, we can’t wait till it officially announces its plans for the sub-continent.