Audi Q8 e-tron down to remaining stock after factory closure
03/02/2025 06:00 PM
With the Belgium production facility now closed, Australia Australia only has a handful of new Q8 e-tron models left in stock.
Audi has nearly exhausted supply of its first mass-market electric car in Australia, the Q8 e-tron (formerly known as the e-tron), as production has shuttered from its Belgium plant.
Speaking to Drive at the launch of the Q6 e-tron, Audi Australia director Jeff Mannering confirmed only 29 new examples of the Q8 e-tron were left in the country at the time of interview.
"Once that's done, we'll see what happens next in that bigger segment," Mannering said.
Audi is yet to confirm a successor to the Q8 e-tron, but has stated it will offer an all-electric model in all major SUV segments – namely small, medium and large.
MORE: Audi Q8 e-tron slated to be axed next year amid ‘intensified’ sales slump
With the Q4 e-tron and Q6 e-tron models now available in showrooms in the mid-size SUV field, it leaves space for a Q3-sized model and the replacement for the Q8 e-tron to fill out Audi's line-up.
The Q8 e-tron's production facility in Brussels, Belgium closed its doors last week after an investor failed to materialise to save the Volkswagen Group plant.
The plant shutdown comes amid Volkswagen Group financial turmoil – in part due to the influx of affordable China-sourced electric vehicles (EVs) coming to markets around the world – with as many as three German factories also threatened with closures.
This means if a Q8 e-tron successor emerges, it would need to be built and sourced for Australia from another factory.
MORE: Audi Q8 e-tron faces the axe
However, Mannering emphasised whatever emerges in that segment for Audi in the future would need to make sense in terms of positioning.
"If it was $500,000? We probably wouldn't have that segment of car," Mannering said.
"But that's part of the everyday job for our product team and for me to make sure we get it [right], otherwise it’s pointless having that car if it doesn't fit."
Last year in Australia, 619 examples of the Q8 were sold in Australia, of which 174 were in the all-electric e-tron variant.
The Q8 e-tron has competed against the BMW iX and Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV electric models, the former finding 556 new homes last year and the latter notching a 136-unit tally.
For reference, the Q8 e-tron has started at $153,984 before on-road costs for the entry-level 55 quattro, extending to $179,984 for the performance-honed SQ8 Sportback e-tron.
The post Audi Q8 e-tron down to remaining stock after factory closure appeared first on Drive.
