Audi still evaluating PHEV future in Australia

Audi has revealed its latest plug-in hybrid (PHEV) for Europe, but it’s off limits for Australia.

Revealed overnight, the A6 Avant 55TFSI e quattro has been ruled out for the local market – but Audi is looking into whether its sedan brother could work here.

According to an Audi Australia spokesperson, the full range of plug-in hybrid models revealed last year – including the A6 55 TFSI e – are “still under evaluation, with all our focus on launching the new e-tron and e-tron Sportback for 2020”.

Should it come to Australia, the A6 55TFSI e quattro would take on the BMW 530e. The BMW is good for a claimed range of 60km on pure-electric power.

As with the wider range of 55TFSI e quattro hybrids revealed last year, the new A6 Avant has a 14.1kWh battery pack under its boot floor for 51km of all-electric driving.

The 100km/h sprint is dispatched in just 5.7 seconds, and flat out you’ll be doing 250km/h.

The e-motor is integrated into the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and makes 105kW of power and 350Nm of torque on its own.

Combined with the petrol engine, the 55TFSI e outputs 270kW and 500Nm, the latter on tap from just 1250rpm.

As with all plug-in hybrids, when the battery goes flat the petrol engine can be used to power the wheels. Drivers can toggle force the car to be pure-electric in EV mode or allow it to make the decisions in Normal, while Hold will preserve battery power for when you arrive in a zero-emissions area such as a European city centre.

Boot space has suffered in the transition from internal-combustion to plug-in hybrid. The A6 Avant has just 405L of space, down from 586L in the standard car.

Would you like to see the A6 Avant PHEV in Australia?