Currently reading: 2025 Audi A4 goes electric with 400-mile range and 510bhp S4
Tesla Model 3 rival will slot into the firm's growing E-tron range and get 510bhp S4 version

The Audi A4 will make the switch to an all-electric powertrain, three decades after its introduction, as the Ingolstadt brand gears up to contend with BMW, Mercedes, Tesla and a raft of new disruptors in the crucial electric executive segment. 

Due on sale towards the end of 2025, the electric A4 will be sold alongside a new-generation combustion equivalent – evolved from today’s car but wearing the A5 nameplate in line with Audi’s new naming strategy, which allocates even numbers to EVs. 

The electric car will be marketed clearly as a stand-alone product, despite its similar footprint and positioning, with a design that closely matches that of the A6 and Q6 E-tron EVs with which it shares Audi’s and Porsche’s new co-developed PPE architecture. 

Audi technical boss Oliver Hoffmann has told Autocar that switching to the new platform means the firm’s upcoming EVs “have great proportions, which makes our designers very happy”. 

Short overhangs, low-slung bodywork and rakish glasshouses will be defining features of the new E-tron family. This will obviously mark out the A4 E-tron – set to be available in saloon and estate forms – from its more subtly overhauled fuel-burning A5 sibling. 

Following in the footsteps of the Q6, which will arrive in early 2024 as the spearhead of Audi’s new line of bespoke EVs, it will bring significant technical advances compared with the marque’s current electric cars. Most notable among these will be a new-generation battery sited between the axles, with a usable capacity of around 100kWh.

Audi q6 e tron interior

Based on the fact that the A4 will be inherently lower, sleeker and lighter than its 373-mile Q6 SUV sibling, it should be good for a maximum range of nearly 400 miles. 

Equipped with 800V charging hardware as standard, the A4 E-tron will be able to top up at a maximum 270kW – double the speed of the current, MEB-based Q4 E-tron. This will allow for around 155 miles of range to be added in just 10 minutes. 

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The new nickel-manganese-cobalt battery comprises 15 individual prismatic cells, arranged to maximise space usage within the floorpan and boost interior space while optimising energy density. Equally instrumental in optimising the PPE architecture’s endurance credentials is a new approach to electronic management. 

Silicon-carbide semiconductors are used throughout the wiring structure of PPE-based cars, chosen for their lower heat emissions and thus reduced energy wastage. In addition, the new electric motors have square-section stator wiring, which eliminates the microscopic wasted spaces between each winding on conventional round wires.

Hot versions

The electric A4 is expected to be launched with a familiar spread of variants, ranging from an entry-level, rear-driven A4 45 E-tron to a four-wheel-drive twin-motor A4 55 E-tron that should match the equivalent Q6 with 396bhp and a sub-6.0sec 0-62mph time. 

Above that, a hot S4 E-tron is tipped to ramp total output to 510bhp in its most potent setting – substantially more power than even today’s V6-engined RS4 Competition makes – to cut the 0-62mph sprint time to nearer 4.0sec. 

In addition, Volkswagen Group boss Oliver Blume’s plan to “put more focus on the RS brand” over the coming years means a hardcore RS4 E-tron is unlikely to be far behind. 

Recently departed Audi Sport boss Sebastian Grams told Autocar that RS-badged EVs will have their own “special character”. This will come courtesy of outlandish design cues that mark them out clearly from the standard cars on which they are based, distinctive acceleration soundtracks and bespoke powertrain set-ups that exploit the lofty reserves of these hot range-toppers. 

Inside, the A4 will take its lead from the Q6 E-tron SUV, with a ‘human-centric’ arrangement based around a trio of high-definition screens, including a stand-alone touchscreen in front of the passenger, which lets them input routes and select music, for example. 

It is likely to be offered with the same augmented reality head-up display as the Q6 and a cross-cabin LED lighting system that greets occupants and shows the state of charge when the car is plugged in. 

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As for pricing, the electric A4 will no doubt command a premium over the same-sized petrol car, reflecting its billing as an alternative to the likes of the BMW i4 and Mercedes EQE. Expect a starting price at around the £50,000 mark and for the hot S4 to nudge towards the mid-£60,000s.

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: News and features editor

Felix is Autocar's news editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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Anton motorhead 21 October 2023
Don't worry Peter C. There will be plenty or at least several of cheaper, slower and lighter EVs to choose from in the not so distant future. I am waiting for those myself, but until then we keep our fossil powered dinosaurs going a few more years while we try to figure out how much we are going to miss the sound of a whirring starter engine, the mechanical sounds of a combustion engine not to mention the joys of oil/filter/spark plug changes, failed ignition coils warning lights for failed anti pollution gear not to mention slow warm up to correct oil temperature before you can safely rev the engine.
Peter Cavellini 20 October 2023

Yes, even I will have to admit car design has to move on all the time, we can't live in the good old days of mechanical cars, now we're into EV power, more power instant torque from zero revs, it's even more about where we're sitting what tech is in front of us ,actual driving seems almost secondary,even this is literally getting taken out of our hands, is 500hp enough?, aren't they fast enough now?, this what to expect in one or two years is just the same as keeping what your developing secret, nobody know for sure, it may stay faithful or because new developments come along the car changes, all I know is cars aren't getting cheaper,even the so called less premium brands are getting pricey.

Andrew1 20 October 2023
Next time try to split the words salad into sentences. Hint: you do that by inserting a dot followed by in uppercase letter.
Peter Cavellini 20 October 2023
Andrew1 wrote:

Next time try to split the words salad into sentences. Hint: you do that by inserting a dot followed by in uppercase letter.

At leastyou understood it Andrew1@

Andrew1 20 October 2023
I bet most would say the same about your porridge.
roy_g_biv 27 March 2019

A4-sized electric saloon

Will it be overweight and underdeveloped like its 'flagship' E-Tron SUV as reported recently.