Did an Audi A6 Hybrid sound like a guaranteed hit to you? Even if it did, Audi has given up on it after just three years.
The A6 Hybrid won’t be part of the facelifted A6 and A7 lineups that were announced in September, according to a Car&Driver story.
The hybrid version of Audi’s most popular sedan was powered by a gasoline 2.0-liter turbo four teamed with a 33kW electric motor, with a net output of 245 horsepower and a significantly smaller trunk.
The magazine reported just 4,000 A6 Hybrids were sold worldwide, 80 percent of which went to Asian markets. The hybrid was supposed to be destined for the U.S., traditionally a much stronger market for gas-electric hybrids than Europe, back in 2012 with a price tag of about $55,000. Instead, Audi gave the U.S. federalized versions of its A6 TDI with the 3.0-liter, 240-horsepower turbodiesel V6 for 2013.
The company is apparently following Porsche’s method of going after plug-in hybrids, so expect an e-tron version of the A6 sometime in the future.
Something tells me the U.S. got the better end of the deal with the TDI instead of the hybrid. And considering how often you see its rivals, the BMW ActiveHybrid 5 and Mercedes E400 Hybrid, Audi probably made the right decision.
By Zac Estrada
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