Audi could soon be left with no coupes or convertibles in Australia, as the brand moves away from these body styles globally.
“It’s definitely diminishing,” said Audi Australia product planning manager Peter Strudwicke about coupe and convertible demand.
“People are kind of moving to different body styles that are sort of new, so Sportbacks is one of those things.
“It might be a Sportback in a low-riding car like an A5, or it might be an SUV Sportback.
100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now.
RS5 Coupe Competition Plus
“So there are emerging new body styles, it’s always changing and we’re always responding to those changes.
“But definitely the amount of volume we’re seeing in coupes and convertibles has been steadily reducing, and it’s not just us. You see other manufacturers as well are either reducing or stopping production of certain variants of those types of vehicles.”
Audi Australia recently introduced Competition Plus packages for its RS4 and RS5, but opted to only bring the latter here in five-door Sportback guise even though the RS5 Coupe is available with this package in Europe.
“The reason why we offered the Competition Plus on the Sportback A5 is because that significantly outsells the coupe,” said Mr Strudwicke.
A5 Cabriolet
He also noted the coupe was ruled out as the Competition Plus’ signature bucket seats weren’t available globally.
These seats can’t be folded forward, and therefore wouldn’t make sense in a coupe… unless you really wanted to test the agility of your passengers.
VFACTS industry sales data doesn’t break down Audi model sales in terms of regular, hotter S, and hottest RS variants.
However, sales figures for the A5 coupe and convertible range – inclusive of S5 and RS5 models – shows a total of just 78 were sold during the first eight months of this year.
The A5 Sportback range – inclusive of S5 and RS5 models – has notched 307 sales this year.
TT
Audi has revealed a new-generation A5 which is due here next year, but it’s being offered only in five-door liftback and five-door wagon body styles.
There’s been no word of a replacement for today’s two-door coupe and two-door convertible body styles, which appears to indicate Audi will cede this segment to BMW (with its 4 Series) and Mercedes-Benz (with its CLE).
Audi’s coupe and convertible lineup was already being thinned.
Production of the TT coupe and convertible ended last year and local stock is drying up, while the R8 stopped rolling down the factory line this year.
The supercar was discontinued locally in 2021, shortly after the A3 Cabriolet exited production with the changeover to a new generation.
