Audi denies that its flagship A8 sedan is battery-powered.

Audi is ruling out a battery-powered version of its flagship A8 sedan when it is redesigned around the middle of the decade, Hans-Joachim Rothenpiler, Audi's head of development, told Automotive News (subscription required) on Thursday. ) In the interview. [Rothenpiler said the A8 is an important model in Audi's lineup thanks to its halo role, but its relatively low sales volume (22,300 global sales in 2019) doesn't allow it to justify the development of a battery version.

He said Audi will instead focus on adding electric power to its SUVs.

Former CEO Bram Schott said back in May last year that Audi was considering building the next A8 as a dedicated EV. Since then, Audi appears to have abandoned that plan and, according to Rothenpiler, will instead focus on extending the electric range of the plug-in hybrid variant of the next A8 beyond the 25 miles that the current A8 plug-in hybrid has.

This news comes just weeks after BMW CEO Oliver Gipset announced that the next 7 Series will feature an electric engine. Jaguar is also close to introducing its XJ electric car. Lexus and Mercedes-Benz have no plans to launch electric versions of their flagship LS and S-Class sedans, respectively, although Mercedes plans to launch only the EQS in this EV segment later this year. Audi also plans to launch an electric sedan in the form of the E-Tron GT based on the Porsche Taikan. It will be introduced in 2021.

Audi already sells the battery-powered E-Tron and E-Tron Sportback and plans to have 20 electric vehicles in its lineup by 2025. Other models under development include the Q4 E-Tron compact SUV and an A4-sized model that could replace the A5 series.