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Audi could base the next A4 on two different platforms, one for thermal and hybrid models, the other for all-electric versions.

During the presentation of the A6 e-tron concept, Audi had hinted that the production electric sedan could not replace the thermal model but live alongside it following the change of generation expected for 2023, and this despite the use of a different platform. The same could be true for the future A4 according to Autocar.

Part of the Audi A4 range would thus be based on an evolution of the current MLB platform with petrol and diesel engines, many of them electrified. The plug-in hybrid versions would benefit, thanks to the changes made to the structure, from a 14.4 kWh battery capable of achieving a “zero-emission” range of around one hundred kilometers.

An Audi A4 e-Tron on the PPE platform

A 100% electric Audi A4, called the A4 e-Tron and based on the Audi-Porsche platform called PPE, would enrich the range. Like the A6 e-Tron, it would be available with a choice of one or two engines and therefore two or four-wheel drive. Also according to the British publication, the A4 e-Tron could adopt a body of “five-door coupe” which would differentiate it from the rest of its family as well as certain functional details such as a full grille. This design strategy already seems to be taking shape for the A6 e-Tron if we trust the concept car.

RS4 plug-in hybrid and RS4 e-Tron in the catalog?

At the top of the range, the future Audi RS4 would also display this dual identity. It would be offered as a plug-in hybrid, an electric motor supporting the twin-turbo V6, and fully electric with the probable name RS4 e-tron. In both cases, the power could be around 475 hp and the torque peak at around 800 Nm.

For both the A4 and the A6, this range strategy would allow Audi to adapt to the pace of the electrification of the market, to no longer offer before the end of the next generation only the e-Tron versions of these models.