Audi confirms Q5 Sportback

AUDI has confirmed it will continue the expansion of its coupe-style SUV portfolio with the arrival of the Q5 Sportback, which will take on the likes of the BMW X4 and Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe following its reveal later this year.

Announced at Audi AG’s annual sales results conference last month, Audi chairman of the board of management Bram Schot said the Q5 Sportback would be one of the new models to be presented by the brand in 2020.

“We will present a total of about 20 new models this year, including highlights such as the new A3, the product upgrade of the compact Q2, and also completely new models such as the Q5 Sportback,” he said.

The introduction of the Q5 Sportback would fill the final gap in Audi’s SUV product portfolio, with the coupe-style SUV now well represented for the brand.

In the small SUV segment, the Q2 kicked things off in early 2017 and has been joined this month by the all-new Q3 Sportback, while at the other end of its SUV line-up, the Q7 seven-seat SUV was joined by the sporty Q8 coupe-SUV in late 2018.

Introducing a new body style to the Q5 range would make sense for Audi given it is the best-selling SUV in its range, chalking up 4152 sales in 2019 to make it Audi’s most popular model.

No timing has been given on when the Q5 Sportback will make it to Australia, however a debut next year or early 2022 seems the most likely.

Variant choice is likely to mirror that of the current Q5 line-up, which consists of a range of 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre V6 engines both petrol and diesel, topped by the 260kW/500Nm SQ5.

Given the Sportback body style is often tied to a more sporty and dynamic ethos, the Q5 Sportback could even pave the way to introduce the first-ever RS Q5 SUV, which would likely be underpinned by the same 331kW/600Nm 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 used in the RS4 and RS5.

An RS Q5 Sportback would allow Audi to compete with the likes of the BMW X4 M and Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S Coupe.

Given the popularity of the X4 and GLC Coupe model lines compared to the regular X3 and GLC, Audi could expect to sell around 1000 examples of the Q5 Sportback per year, based on the Q5’s 2019 performance.

However the impact of the COVID-19 virus is expected to put a major dent in the sales number of all brands as the Australian economy slows down greatly.

Details on the Q5 Sportback including Australian timing will be detailed when the model is revealed later this year.