Audi dropped the Concept C last year and the internet collectively lost its mind. Sharp lines, radical proportions, a distant but unmistakable echo of the original 1998 TT coupe. The problem, as always with Volkswagen Group, is that admiring a concept and driving a production car are two very different timelines.
The next-generation Audi A4 e-tron, heavily inspired by that concept, is expected somewhere around 2028 or 2029. By then, BMW’s i3 and Mercedes’ EQ C-Class will have already been on dealer lots for two or three years.
Before we get to the car itself, a quick detour through Audi’s naming department, which has been operating in a state of creative confusion for the better part of a decade. The A4 became the A5 around 2024, part of a grand plan to reserve even numbers for electric models and odd numbers for combustion. A plan that was abandoned almost immediately, as evidenced by the combustion A6 that nearly got called the A7.
The upcoming refresh around 2028/2029 is expected to correct course and bring back the A4 nameplate. Design-wise, the production A4 e-tron will dial back some of the Concept C’s more theatrical elements. Expect a wider grille to accommodate the license plate without looking like an afterthought, smaller lateral air intakes, thicker headlights, and a front bumper with actual creases.
Underneath, it will ride on the new Scalable Systems Platform, SSP, a 800-volt architecture shared across Volkswagen, Skoda, Cupra, and Porsche. The future Golf is also in line for SSP treatment by 2028, which is either reassuring or slightly alarming depending on how much you trust VW Group’s scheduling at this point. Battery capacity is rumored to exceed 100 kWh, and an WLTP range figure north of 900 kilometers has been floated. That’s the kind of number that sounds made up until it isn’t.
The A4 e-tron will be late. It will also, if the SSP platform and Concept C DNA deliver on their promise, be genuinely worth the wait. Audi just needs to stop renaming things and start building them.
