Long time patrons of the Audi brand should rejoice as the company confirmed that the next generation version of the A8 is coming in 2017.
Along with the launch, a slew of new announcements can also be expected.
Every auto manufacturer in the world is gearing up to launch new models, most of them with electrification and some of them with autonomous features. After all, it’s time for a drastic change in the industry. People are ready to adopt new technology and from the videos shown, one may not hesitate to sleep in their car while it navigates itself to their office during busy hours. Similarly, connectivity features are improvised and no car is complete without being able to communicate with an Android or Apple smartphone.
Audi is ready for the future as the company confirmed that they are going to launch three billion euros to build new production plans, research and developer technologies. Over 20 vehicles, new and old ones in their lineup is set to receive their next gen versions. That’s a huge number to cover but the engineers are going to make it possible, no matter what. They have announced that the Q2 small crossover will be the first of the lot to make its way to the store.
A plug-in variant of the Q7 is scheduled to get launched in 2017 which will be followed by the SQ7. The biggest announcement of them all is the next gen A8 sedan, the flagship launch from the company which will be equipped with self-driving technologies for the first time. The car can touch up to 37 miles per hour autonomously, an obvious feat the engineers have accomplished and with its Traffic Jam Pilot feature, it can navigate without any input from the driver.
The second generation Q5 crossover is also in the cards and will be announced in the second half of this year. Audi is also working on its own version of an all-electric car. The car is going to compete against the likes of Tesla Model 3, Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Spark. A battery production plant has been setup in Brussel for the purpose. An A4 all-road variant has been confirmed as well which will be followed by the S4’s performance oriented launch.
The company faced huge diesel emission issues along with Volkswagen cars but things are back to normal and they are aiming to win back the trust from their loyal patrons.