byGrace Buchan/September 12, 2024/inAudi News, Electric Vehicle News

Coming 2025: Audi A6 e-tron

The highly anticipated Audi A6 e-tron is set to debut in 2025. This groundbreaking addition to the A6 lineup is poised to revolutionise the luxury sedan market, combining Audi’s iconic design with advanced electric technology. With its sleek aesthetics, impressive performance — including an expected range of over 750km (WLTP)* —, and commitment to sustainability, the Audi A6 e-tron represents the future of driving—elevating the standard for what a luxury vehicle can be.

Read on for Audi’s press release.

Evocative design: seamless exterior and interior architecture tailored to the occupants in terms of design and ergonomics.
Outstanding aerodynamics and a long range of over 750 km (WLTP)*.
The best driving dynamics: adaptive air suspension enables a broad spread between excellent long-distance comfort and sporty driving dynamics.
Available as a Sportback and Avant.

New Zealand, August 1, 2024 – The Audi A6 e-tron concept debuted at the Auto Shanghai 2021 trade fair as the forerunner of an innovative family of all-electric volume models. Audi is now launching the A6 e-tron as a Sportback and Avant. As the second model on the PPE platform, the upper mid-size vehicle picks up on the familiar product strengths of performance, range, efficiency, and charging. It is also the platform’s first model with a flat floor concept. The exterior is powerful, sporty, and perfectly proportioned. Audi’s new design philosophy defines the interior. Depending on the equipment level, the A6 e-tron offers many innovative features, such as second-generation virtual exterior mirrors, a panoramic glass roof that becomes opaque at the touch of a button and illuminated rings at the rear.

“The A6 e-tron is the first purely electric Audi available as an Avant, which is the shape of some of our most iconic vehicles,” says Greg Leet, Audi New Zealand General Manager. “Its striking design enables the best aerodynamics in the portfolio and therefore greater efficiency. This means we can now offer our current Avant customers an electrified offering without any compromise to the design, performance and flexibility these customers truly value, especially with its long range of well over 700 km*.”

The exterior: elegant and progressive

The body’s clean design focuses on dynamism, progressiveness, and elegance. The slim design of the daytime running lights and the wide grille make the A6 e-tron appear flat and wide on the road. The main headlights and other functional elements, such as the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) sensors and the air intakes, are integrated into the dark mask, making them almost invisible. The quattro blisters are those contours that emphasise the quattro drive with their sculptural and muscular shape. They are a core element of the Audi design DNA. As the heart of the car, the battery is emphasised by a black insert in the sill area. The insert gives the car a flat, slim, and dynamic appearance from the side. It extends to the rear and integrates the reflectors, giving the A6 e-tron a visually stretched appearance. The Avant is also characterized by a very flat roofline, with the D-pillar sloping steeply forward. An aluminum-look trim piece from the A-pillar to the roof spoiler is a new, distinctive feature of the A6 Avant e-tron* and creates a high recognisability.

Best in class: outstanding aerodynamics

A long history of superior aerodynamics is a core component of Audi’s success. The aerodynamic heroes of the past, such as the Audi 100 (C3) and the Audi 80 (B3), also belong to the mid-size segment. Today, the Audi A6 e-tron is writing a new chapter in this success story. The sporty design and set up of the new Audi A6 e-tron contribute to its excellent aerodynamics and ensure an exceptionally low cw value of 0.21 for the Sportback, making it the best Audi of all time in terms of aerodynamics and the most aerodynamic vehicle in the entire VW Group. The Avant also achieves a very good cw value of 0.24, making it one of the best in its segment. The front is aerodynamically optimized and has air curtains that positively influence the flow around the front and the wheels. The greenhouse is extremely slim, and the roofline slopes towards the rear. Moreover, a controllable cool-air intake under the Singleframe of the Audi A6 e-tron ensures the airstream can flow around this zone with minimal losses. Audi has further optimized this system with additional components. These include specially adapted wheel trims and 3D bumps ahead of the front wheels, which are individually optimised for the Sportback and Avant, the undertray, battery, rear axle, and sill panels. A wide and aerodynamically optimised diffuser achieves the optimum balance between lift at the rear axle and cw value. The Avant is also equipped with an additional spoiler on the diffuser. Aero elements in the form of side spoilers at the rear of the A6 Avant e-tron enable a controlled stall. The low roof edge spoiler contributes to a small “still water area” behind the vehicle, which also improves the aerodynamics.

Innovative lighting technology

With the new Audi A6 e-tron, Audi is underlining its leading role in lighting design and technology – an essential part of the Audi DNA. The headlights and rear lights have a three-dimensional design and offer digital light signatures, bringing the physical and digital worlds together. At the front, the Audi A6 e-tron family offers digital daytime running lights with LED technology as an option as well as second-generation digital OLED rear lights. Audi is establishing new levels of lighting design, functionality, and safety with the second generation of digital OLED rear lights. For the first time, the digital OLED rear lights 2.0 can communicate with the immediate surroundings (car-to-x). Audi has also further developed its safety functions. The proximity detection has been expanded in the new A6 e-tron to include the communication light. It warns other road users of accidents and breakdowns. In addition to the regular taillight graphics, the communication light displays a specific static taillight signature with integrated warning symbols in the digital OLED rear light 2.0 in critical driving or traffic situations. A particular highlight of the new Audi A6 e-tron is the equipment dependent illumination of the four rings at the rear. This strongly emphasizes the Audi corporate identity and gives the new A6 e-tron its very own personality.

Audi MMI panoramic display

The MMI panoramic display, with its curved design and OLED technology, consists of the 11.9-inch Audi virtual cockpit and the 14.5-inch MMI touch display and, together with the 10.9-inch MMI front passenger display, forms a digital stage with visually clear design.

Active Privacy Mode allows the front seat passenger to enjoy entertainment content while traveling, such as watching movies or streaming series, without distracting the driver. Depending on the current speed, and seat occupancy, the light is directed (privacy mode on) or diffused (content visible to all) via an intelligent control unit.

Impressive range and charging performance

An optional innovative panoramic glass roof further enhances the range. This works with PDLC technology (polymer-dispersed liquid crystal), which can switch from transparent to opaque. Electrically switchable glass components contain two PDLC film elements, between which the liquid crystals float. If no voltage is applied, the crystals form an opaque layer, making the glass roof non-transparent. If voltage is applied, the crystals align so the roof becomes transparent. It can be individually controlled like a “digital curtain” via a button in the roof module; customers can choose from four presets. Impressive range and charging performance. Powerful, compact, and highly efficient electric motors and a lithium-ion battery newly developed for the PPE consisting of twelve modules and 180 prismatic cells with a total gross capacity of 100 kWh ensure a range of over 750 km WLTP* (A6 Sportback e-tron) and over 720 km WLTP* (A6 Avant e-tron). With a system output of up to 270 kW in the A6 Sportback/Avant e-tron performance, the new Audi A6 e-tron provides the sporty driving experience Audi is known for. The Audi A6 e-tron performance accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds. Its top speed is 210 km/h. The S6 e-tron* provides a system output of 370 kW. The S6 Sportback e-tron and the S6 Avant e-tron accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. The top speed is 240 km/h. Its range is over 670 km WLTP* (S6 Sportback e-tron*) and over 640 km WLTP (S6 Avant e-tron*). Thanks to 800-volt technology and a maximum DC charging capacity of 270 kW as standard, short charging stops are possible with the Audi A6 e-tron. This means the A6 Sportback e-tron performance can be recharged at an appropriate charging station (High Power Charging, HPC) for a range of up to 310 km in just ten minutes. The State of Charge (SoC) increases from 10 to 80 percent in 21 minutes. Intelligent high-performance and predictive thermal management are key components of this impressive charging performance. The advanced recuperation (regenerative braking) system is an important component in increasing the efficiency and range of the Audi A6 e-tron. This system can handle around 95 percent of everyday braking processes. The Audi A6 e-tron recuperates up to 220 kW. The temperature and the battery’s state of charge play a key role here. The integrated Brake System (iBS) that is familiar in previous e-tron models has been enhanced significantly as part of the Premium Platform Electric. For the first time, the described axle-specific brake blending between the mechanical friction brake and regenerative braking via the electric motors is possible.

Precise driving dynamics, high comfort

The typical Audi DNA is also evident in the suspension. The directly tuned front axle significantly influences the driving dynamics of the A6 e-tron, making the vehicle feel particularly agile. The optional adaptive air suspension – an air suspension system with controlled damping – lends the vehicle a broad spread between high ride comfort and sporty handling. Depending on the speed and individual preferences, it adapts to specific road conditions and regulates the body’s ride height at four different levels. The efficiency mode in Audi drive select is a special feature. In efficiency mode, the suspension lowers the body by 20 mm depending on the speed, thus improving the vehicle’s aerodynamics. This serves to optimize energy consumption and increase range.

Always ready to assist: the driver assistance systems

The adaptive driving assistant plus is a new feature of the A6 e-tron. It supports the driver when accelerating, braking, maintaining speed and the set distance, and with lane guidance. This can increase driving comfort, especially on long journeys. In addition to various sensors, depending on the region, the system uses highresolution map data and swarm data from other vehicles aggregated in the cloud to improve driving behaviour. Applying this fusion of information, the vehicle calculates the route ahead to enable a comfortable driving experience across the entire speed range and in traffic jams.

The Audi A6 e-tron: coming to New Zealand in 2025

The final model line-up, pricing and specifications for New Zealand will be released closer to the local launch which is planned for the middle of 2025. To keep informed and receive updates on this new model, please register your interest.

Make an enquiry Explore Audi Sign-up to Emails

Register Your Interest

Please note:

Information, imagery, and video on this pace may feature overseas vehicles along with their specifications, options, accessories, and pricing. For confirmation of pricing and models available in New Zealand, please speak to our specialists.

All pricing is Maximum Retail Price (MRP) and excludes on-road costs unless otherwise stated. Information is correct at time of writing but subject to change. Please speak to our team to confirm today’s available models, prices, offers, and specs.

*WLTP is the new official EU test used to calculate standardised fuel consumption and CO₂ figures for passenger cars. It measures fuel, energy consumption, range and emissions. This is designed to provide figures closer to real-world driving behaviour. It tests vehicles with optional equipment and with a more demanding test procedure and driving profile. Figures are shown as a range under WLTP testing measures. The most economical figures refer to the most efficient/lightest set of options. A vehicle’s actual fuel consumption may differ from that achieved in such tests and these figures are for comparative purposes only.