Audiโs long awaited rival for the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7, the Q9, has reportedly been put hold until 2025 when it will debut as one of Ingolstadtโs last new international combustion powered models.
Rumoured as far back as 2018 as a coupe-styled model similar to the Q8, the three-rowย had been tipped to premiere in 2021, only to be pushed back to next year as not only a rival for the offerings from Stuttgart and Munich,ย but also the next generationย Volvo XC90 as well as the seven-seat Range Rover.
According to a report from Automotive News though, Audi dealers in North America have been informed that the Q9 will now become a reality in three yearsโ time, twelve months before the brand embarks on an electric only future. While set to make use of the same MLB Evo platform used by the Q7, Lamborghini Urus, Volkswagen Touareg, Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Bentayga, the move towards electrification could well lead to a switch in platform to the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture used by the Q6 e-tron in China.
Reportedly, the Q9โs unveiling will come at the same as the next generation Q7, although speculative claims have suggested the former replacing the latter entirely once the current generation, which debuted in 2015, exits production. โThe customers will tell us what they want in the future,โ disgraced former CEO Rupert Stadler told Britainโs Autocarย in 2018 after being asked about the possibility of a larger model above the Q7 and Q8 becoming a reality.
Also remaining tight lipped was Ingolstadtโs former design boss, Marc Lichte, who merely told the publication, โWe have so many ideas, so many ideasโฆโ While shrouded in mystery for now, expect the Q9, when it reaches to production, to make use of mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid TFSI powerunits with four, six and possibility also eight-cylinders before becoming wholly electric propelled. Expect more details to become apparent or hinted at over the coming months and into 2023.
