Audi Australia culls more passenger cars in increasingly SUV-heavy lineup
Audi Australia has updated its website to confirm orders for the large five-door liftback and even larger four-door sedan are now closed.
While the A7 is at the end of its lifecycle – it's understood the latest A6 replaces both the outgoing A6 and A7 – the S8 hasn't been discontinued globally.
The S8 also continues to be offered in the UK, another major right-hand drive market, as well as in its home market of Germany.
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ABOVE: Audi A7
However, the A8 and S8 family entered production late in 2017, which means they're close to a decade old now, and yet no replacement has been announced, combustion-powered or otherwise.
'The S8 is no longer available in showrooms at this stage,' confirmed an Audi Australia spokesperson.
'While the A8 range is currently unavailable, the Audi Australia team constantly evaluates all models available to us from the factory, ensuring that we have a broad range of models available here to meet customer's needs.'
The removal of the A7 and S8 from Australian order books comes after the 'regular' A8 was retired locally, and orders were closed for the high-riding A6 allroad wagon, the S6 sports sedan and the S7 Sportback after the 2024 model year.
That leaves Audi's large passenger model range consisting of only the high-performance RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback, plus the outgoing A6 sedan and the recently updated S and RS e-tron GT electric sedans.
If you want a large, combustion-powered Audi without the RS treatment, you now have just one option: the A6 45 TFSI quattro S line, priced at $124,950 before on-roads.
ABOVE: New-generation Audi A6 (left), outgoing model (right)
A look at Audi's German website confirms the outgoing A6 and A7, including their sportier S and RS variants, are no longer available to order.
Audi is replacing the outgoing A6 with a new-generation sedan and Avant wagon based on the company's Premium Platform Combustion (PPC), which will be complemented by the electric A6 e-tron and A6 Avant e-tron based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE).
Both of these model lines are already on sale in Europe but Audi has yet to officially lock them in for Australian release.
Instead, it says these vehicles are 'currently under evaluation for the Australian market'.
'Our product team are constantly evaluating each model line and the specific models within the range to determine the mix, pricing, and specification for everything we offer here in Australia,' said the spokesperson.
Should Audi not bring the new-generation A6 to Australia, including its inevitable hotted-up RS flagship, the recently launched A5/S5 would become the brand's largest combustion-powered passenger car available in Australia.
ABOVE: Audi S8
The discontinuation of the S8 locally now leaves Audi without a model in the so-called 'Upper Large' passenger car segment, which also contains vehicles like the rival BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, after 30 years.
Audi delivered just three S8s in the first half of this year, but even looking at full-year sales of the A8/S8 in 2024 – when the flagship was still available to order – it notched up only 10 deliveries, down 47.4 per cent on the previous year and behind the LS (11), S-Class (43) and 7 Series (49).
It isn't just the Upper Large segment from which Audi is withdrawing.
The four-ringed brand no longer offers any coupe or convertible models, neither here nor abroad, following the axing of the R8 supercar and TT sports car, and the introduction of the new-generation of A5 without any two-door variants.
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Content originally sourced from: The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) has been testing the fuel consumption and emissions claims of automakers since 2023, and now it's expanding its testing program to look at electric vehicle (EV) range figures. The peak motoring body has released test results for five EVs analysed under its federally funded Real-World Testing Program, and found their driving range figures were anywhere between 5 and 23 per cent less than claimed in actual driving conditions. The AAA says it tests EVs on a 93km route in and around Geelong, Victoria. All were tested in a mix of damp and dry conditions, though temperatures varied from 17°C to 25°C. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal. It tested a pre-facelift 2024 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD, a post-facelift 2024 Tesla Model 3 RWD, a 2023 BYD Atto 3 Extended Range, a 2022 Kia EV6 Air, and a 2024 Smart #3 Premium. 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