Audi's electric A4 slips to 2029 as VW Group's SSP platform hits more delays, Autocar reports
The BMW i3 and electric C-Class rival had been due at Ingolstadt in 2028. Autocar says software problems and Audi's own requests, including footwells and a 48-volt system, have pushed it back.
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Audi's first fully electric A4 saloon will not go into production before 2029, Autocar reports, a year later than the 2028 start originally planned at the company's Ingolstadt plant. Audi has not announced the change itself.
Why it is late
The car is one of the first models planned for the Volkswagen Group's Scalable Systems Platform, or SSP. Autocar says long-running software problems at Cariad, the group's software unit, are central to the platform's delays, but that the A4's slip is not only about software.
According to the magazine, Audi asked for significant changes to its version of SSP to keep the packaging and seating position expected of an A4. They include separate footwells for front and rear passengers instead of a completely flat floor, which forced engineers to rethink where the battery and other high-voltage parts sit, and a 48-volt electrical system in place of the planned 12-volt one, which needs more work on electronics being developed with Rivian. An Audi insider told Autocar the changes add complexity just as the group is trying to share more parts between brands.
InsideEVs adds that the delay comes as the Volkswagen Group tries to limit spending, and Electrek notes that it follows VW's decision to delay the SSP-based electric Golf.
What it means
The electric A4 was meant to take on the BMW i3 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class EVs that are already on sale in Europe. Autocar says the delay leaves Audi without a contender in the mid-size executive EV class, a segment where the petrol A4, now sold as the A5, has long been one of its most important models.
Analysis: the SSP was supposed to simplify the group's next generation of cars. Each brand-specific change makes it more expensive and slower, which is the trade-off Volkswagen now has to manage.