Audi is preparing to battle the electric BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class with a radical new take on the A4 that is due to go on sale in three years with a game-changing new platform, next-level software and a striking new look inspired by the TT.
Set to be one of the first production cars designed according to the ‘Radical Next’ design philosophy, as previewed by Audi’s Concept C sports car, the A4 E-tron will play a crucial role in the firm’s shift to becoming a manufacturer of electric software-defi ned vehicles. The move is part of a completely new strategy aimed at sparking global growth and defending the brand’s market share from rivals old and new.
Development of the new electric A4 was confirmed to Autocar by Audi CEO Gernot Döllner, who said the exec EV’s launch will form part of “the biggest change in the history of the company”, as Audi seeks to “completely rebuild” its product line-up, design language, corporate structure and strategic outlook.
Already, the firm has reversed its polarising model naming strategy, pledged to cull its least profitable model lines and axed thousands of jobs as part of a global costcutting drive in response to a dramatic decline in deliveries and rising costs – and in anticipation of stormier seas ahead.
Döllner said he is “always optimistic” about the company’s prospects but added that he “would not have expected 2025 to be as tough as it is”, with the new US import tariffs and slow global EV demand weighing heavily on the company’s performance – placing all the more importance on upcoming models like the A4.
“I’m quite positive looking [ahead] to the next years, with a completed model line-up by the end of 2026,” he said, pledging that “more interesting products” will come from then on, as the brand works to “introduce Radical Next design to the Audi line-up”.

Audi is thought to have been developing an electric A4 for some years, but bosses have never officially confirmed plans to launch an EV version of one of its most popular and best-known models – until now.
Asked whether the imminent arrival of radical new electric executive saloons from Audi’s biggest rivals makes an A4 E-tron a necessity, Döllner said: “We have the A6 E-tron that’s positioned in a ‘middle segment’ and addresses a lot of customers from the A4 segment – but you’re right that an electric A4 is definitely a focus field for Audi.”
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He added cryptically that “it will be a future Audi car on a future platform”, later confirming that the architecture, specifically, will be the new SSP skateboard that will be rolled out across the whole Volkswagen Group.
This means it won’t be launched before 2028, which is when that new platform will start to underpin production cars from all Volkswagen Group brands – including the next Volkswagen Golf and Skoda Octavia, and a new flagship Cupra SUV based on the recently revealed Tindaya concept.
It also means the electric A4 will be largely technically unrelated to the existing A6 E-tron, which uses the PPE platform that Audi developed in collaboration with Porsche.
Originally, it was expected that the two executive models would be largely identical under the skin – as has always been the case with the ICE-powered A4 and A6. But moving onto the newer hardware will enable the A4 EV to better compete with the electric 3 Series and C-Class, which will also use their respective manufacturers’ highly advanced new architectures.
No VW Group brand has given explicit details about their engineering targets for SSP-based cars, so it’s not yet clear exactly how far the A4 E-tron will move the game on in terms of performance. But the upcoming C-Class and 3 Series EVs will have roughly 500-mile ranges, the ability to charge at more than 300kW and four-wheel-drive range-toppers with power outputs in the mid-400s, so expect the Audi to be comparably specified.
Beyond its raw technical capabilities, SSP is important for the step-change it will bring in computing capabilities, with Audi preparing to use the platform as the basis for its first cars with a software stack developed by Volkswagen Group technical partner Rivian.
The Volkswagen ID 1, due for launch in 2027, will be the first production car to use Rivian elements, but Audi will be the first Volkswagen Group brand to bring cars to market with a complete software architecture developed in partnership with the Californian outfit – and the electric A4 is highly likely to be one of them.
That’s because “Audi has the highest requirements when it comes to functionality”, said Döllner. In addition, the heightened efficiencies and reduced complexity brought by the new technology will tie into the German brand’s push for clearer and simpler operations.
“It’s 2028 when we’ll see [the Rivian software] in the market. We are heavily working on it with the Rivian-Volkswagen joint venture, building up mules right now and working intensively together, so the fi rst cars are already on their way,” Döllner told Autocar.
He revealed that the technology will be introduced in a pair of all-new cars – “if you take a step like that, you do it in a new platform” – which will occupy different market segments.
“From there, we’ll roll it out from these two models, step by step, to the complete line-up,” said Döllner.
He gave no clues to what these first two models will be but said the Rivian stack will have significant implications for the production and capabilities of next-generation Audis.
“It means for us, first of all, reducing complexity,” he said. “In developing the car, we will have much leaner and faster processes in the way we develop the car.
“Over-the-air updates are an integral part of that strategy, so we are more flexible to add functionality or to fix things that are maybe imperfect, and it also helps us to focus our organisation: that software-defined architecture also brings complexity reduction.”

Audi’s development of a new software-defined family of vehicles comes as it renews its focus on traditional physical controls in pursuit of greater usability – as demonstrated by the new Concept C show car.
The two approaches would seem at odds with each other, but Döllner said digital and analogue elements “fit together perfectly”.
He added: “You have less virtual buttons in the car and more haptic elements, because that’s definitely the customer requirement we get from the market: customers want to have specific functions and direct access. And it gives us the ability to bring back materiality to the interior of the car – that real metal feeling, the ‘Audi click’, so also emotion.
“But underneath it’s a central computer unit with zonal computers behind, so that’s no contradiction. It fits together.”
As well as being a complete departure from today’s ICE-powered A5 (which replaced the previous A4) underneath, the new EV will be strikingly distinguished by bodywork that’s inspired by Audi’s brand-shaping new Concept C show car (itself due in production in 2027).
Defining features will be a new, vertically oriented, rectangular grille, slimline LED light clusters with Audi’s four-ring emblem echoed in the signatures and a minimalist, monolithic silhouette that majors on aerodynamic efficiency.
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Felix is Autocar’s deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand’s agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry – both in print and online.
He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today’s most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 
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