Update (April 3, 2024): ‘Acceleration’ and ‘Charging & range’ sub-sections of ‘Specifications’ updated.
In March 2022, Audi revealed its vision for an all-electric station wagon with the Audi A6 Avant e-tron show car. Like the A6 Sportback e-tron from April 2021, the A6 Avant e-tron is a near-production concept, and when it gets to dealers, it will compete with the BMW i5 Touring and the Nio ET5 Shooting Brake.
Design
We expect the Audi A6 Avant e-tron to get the overall design of the sedan version but with subtle changes to the lights, grille inserts, and bumpers. The highlight will be the long roof, which makes it a more practical car.
Audi has started testing the production A6 Avant e-tron on the roads in the final design. Camouflaged prototypes indicate that, as anticipated, the vehicle will adopt key design features from the A6 e-tron sedan, including its headlights and the distinct closed Singleframe. Its silhouette closely resembles the concept car. Features like red brake calipers, gray double-spoke wheels, and reduced ground clearance hint that a performance variant is also under development.
At the Audi Annual Media Conference 2022 on March 17, 2022, the company’s former R&D boss Oliver Hoffmann said that the A6 Avant e-tron’s design is close to production. Citing Audi designer Wolf Seebers, CAR magazine reported in April 2022 that the production version will be around 90% similar.
I’m as thrilled as you are about the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept – a fantastic car, and it’s really super-close to the production version, as you saw in the video.
Oliver Hoffmann, former Member of the Board for Technical Development, Audi (Audi Annual Media Conference 2022 on March 17, 2022)
Compared to the gas-powered A6 Avant, the A6 Avant e-tron concept is much longer and lower. The car’s dynamically sloping roofline, the positive length, width, and height differences, and what seems to be a shorter front overhang make it sportier and noticeably more dramatic. The two generously sized outlets of the striking rear diffuser complement the electric station wagon’s powerful stance. Finished in ‘Neptune Valley’ paint, the longer rear quarter glass and wider D-pillar suggest there’s ample cargo space behind the rear seats (A6 Avant: 565 liters/20.0 cu ft).
Virtual mirrors
Audi pioneered the virtual mirror technology when it introduced it on the e-tron (now called Q8 e-tron), but after the e-tron Sportback (now called Q8 Sportback e-tron), it stopped rolling out EVs with that feature. It seemed as if Audi wanted to discontinue virtual mirrors not too long after it introduced them. However, it turns out that probably isn’t the case.
Spy shots have revealed a prototype of an Audi A6 Avant e-tron equipped with virtual mirrors undergoing testing on the road. Thus, Audi may offer camera-based digital mirrors on the A6 Avant e-tron, but only in select markets like the UK and Japan. The company may install a high-contrast OLED touchscreen sourced from Samsung Display at the upper-front corner of each front door. Virtual mirrors may help reduce blind spots and combat darkness during cloudy weather.
Interior
The Audi A6 Avant e-tron’s interior should look similar to its SUV counterpart – the Audi Q6 e-tron. Expect a sleek and edgy dashboard with a concave surface and a bank of displays in the middle. The dashboard may with the door panels with a sharp yet seamless curve, making the occupants feel like they are in a snug cocoon.
The driver cockpit area should consist of two free-standing OLED displays—an 11.9-inch Audi virtual cockpit and a 14.5-inch MMI touch display—merged to look like one panel, called the ‘Audi MMI panoramic display.’ A 10.9-inch MMI front passenger display will likely be present on the other side of the central touchscreen. An augmented reality head-up display should complement the digital instrument cluster. An 830-watt, 22-speaker B&O sound system will likely be among the other key tech features in the cabin.
Like the Q6 e-tron, the A6 Avant e-tron should come installed with the CARIAD-developed E³ 1.2 software platform, which will support over-the-air (OTA) software updates. Customers will likely be able to download their favorite apps directly in the infotainment system, through a store jointly developed by CARIAD and Harman Ignite. This will allow them to use their favorite mobile services and enjoy mobile entertainment without needing to connect their smartphones. YouTube, Yelp, Spotify, TikTok, Amazon Music, and Webex by Cisco are among the various apps we expect to be available on the app store.
Expect the same new-generation steering wheel that Audi uses in the Q4 e-tron. Lastly, Audi may extensively employ sustainable materials that are recycled, reusable, and cruelty-free across the cabin.
Specifications
Dimensions
The Audi A6 Avant e-tron measures 4.96 meters in length, 1.96 meters in width, and 1.44 meters in height. Its drag coefficient is just 0.02 units above that of the A6 Sportback e-tron (0.22 Cd) – 0.24 Cd. Despite the similar dimensions to the current A6 Avant, expect the space levels in the electric version to be from a segment above.
| Dimension | A6 Avant e-tron concept | Audi A6 Avant |
| Length | 4.96 m (195.3 in.) | 4.94 m (194.5 in.) |
| Width | 1.96 m (77.2 in.) | 1.89 m (74.4 in.) |
| Height | 1.44 m (56.7 in.) | 1.47 m (57.9 in.) |
Underpinning the A6 Avant e-tron concept is the PPE platform co-developed with Porsche. The electric station wagon has a five-link axle modified for EVs in the front and a multi-link axle in the rear. It features an air suspension with adaptive dampers.
Acceleration
Audi should offer the A6 Avant e-tron in RWD and AWD variants. However, it won’t surprise us if AWD variants precede the range-focused RWD models.
In the case of the former, the rear motor should be tuned to generate up to 428 lb.-ft. of torque. The front motor will likely generate up to 203 lb.-ft. of torque. As for power, we think the combined output would touch 483 hp. A 0-62 mph sprint should take as little as ~4 seconds, and the top speed is likely to be as high as 143 mph (electronically limited).
Charging & Range
The Audi A6 Avant e-tron will boast 800-volt charging technology. Its battery pack, almost certainly a 94.9 kWh (net) lithium-ion unit, should be chargeable at up to 270 kW. Just 10 minutes of DC fast-charging should deliver a range of approximately 300 km (186 miles). DC fast-charging from 5 to 80% should take 21 minutes. We think the WLTP range in at least one of the configurations will be close to 700 km (435 miles).
Production & Release Date
We expect the production of the Audi A6 Avant e-tron to take place alongside the Audi A6 e-tron in Ingolstadt. According to a report Handelsblatt (via Electrive) published on November 18, 2023, the electric sedan will enter production in Week 45 of 2024 (November 4-10, 2024). Thus, we expect the electric station wagon to start arriving at dealerships in European markets in 2025.
The Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept made its public debut at the 2022 eCarExpo in Solna (Stockholm), Sweden, held between April 29, 2022, to May 1, 2022. That was a good choice, as the Swedes have a soft corner for station wagons and are quickly adopting electric vehicles. YouTuber Peter Esse has released a walkaround video detailing the A6 Avant e-tron concept.
Source: Youtube/Peter Esse
Moreover, the Swedish Audi subsidiary confirmed the launch of the production A6 Electric in the announcement preceding the showcase. It noted that the series-produced car derived from the A6 Avant e-tron concept will arrive in 2024, but since then, many publications have reported the ETA to be 2025. Based on the estimated SOP timeline, we, too, expect 2025 to be the electric station wagon’s release date.
On April 29, the A6 Avant e-tron concept makes its first public premiere. The display takes place at the eCarExpo electric car Fair in Stockholm during the Valborg weekend. The concept car offers a preview of the launch of the series-produced car coming in 2024. With a range of up to 700 km and a charging capacity of up to 270 kW, it is an exciting trade fair novelty for all electric car speculators who have asked for an electrically powered station wagon.
Audi Sweden announcement on April 4, 2022 (translated)
Hoffmann later confirmed that Audi is committed to wagons and indicated that a pure electric A6 Avant e-tron is coming to showrooms. Audi’s R&D boss told Top Gear in September 2022 that the A6 Avant e-tron concept clearly envisions Audi’s upcoming PPE platform-based electric cars.
Audi RS6 Avant e-tron
It’s not hard to guess that a full-blown RS performance with zero emissions would be in the pipeline. Except that we’re not guessing. Hoffmann told Top Gear on March 18, 2022, that when the brand presents the A6 e-tron, Audis will “also include some performance versions of it.”
Spy pictures suggest a go-fast variant of the pure electric A6 e-tron is already being tested. These images have shown a test mule with a lowered body, performance brakes featuring red calipers, and large wheels wrapped with low-profile tires. There’s no way of telling whether this prototype is an S variant or an RS variant just yet, but it certainly seems to be one of them.
What’s also certain is that the styling will be subdued compared to gas-powered performance heroes of the present, as there’ll be no huge functional grille in the front or special exhaust pipes at the back. In the EV world, there are generally fewer tell-tale signs of performance variants.
Audi says that the “strongest representatives of the (A6 e-tron) series” will be “high-performance models” that take less than 4 seconds for a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprint. Notice the plurality in the language here. It’s safe to assume that the company is talking about not one but two Audi RS6 e-tron models, a Sportback coupe, and an Avant station wagon.
Audi A6 marketing boss Niko Martens has suggested that the next-gen RS6 may come in ICE and electric variants, with the latter possessing “an even sportier possibility,” as per the April 2022 CAR magazine report. Later, Marc Lichte, Head of Design, Audi, confirmed that an RS6 e-tron will be unveiled in 2024, Top Gear said in a report on January 27, 2023. Audi stopped selling the A6 in the RS variant at the end of the third generation. With the A6 e-tron, the company will launch the RS6 again, although, technically, it’ll be an RS6 e-tron.
The potential RS6 Avant e-tron would have a distinctive interior compared to the gas-powered RS6 sold today. In an interview that Audi published on October 16, 2023, Lichte revealed that the company is working on a new interior for RS models and it will look radically different from RS models with an internal combustion engine. The ambiance of the cabin, the design of seats, the sitting position, etc. will all be different. In fact, Audi designed the new interior of its RS EVs before it even came up with a concept for the future base (regular) model. Thus, it would be a new RS interior de-contented for regular models in the EV era, not a normal interior upgraded for RS models like now.
A beautiful form calls for functionality or else the whole thing’s for the birds. However, large track width has been and will continue to be by far the most important characteristic for our clientele. In other words, the brawny look that clearly distinguishes the RS models from their respective base models.
Marc Lichte, Head of Design, Audi (Internal interview published on October 16, 2023)
In a report on August 4, 2023, Autocar claimed that the RS6 e-tron will sport a twin-motor powertrain, shared with an upgraded Porsche Taycan due in 2025 and producing up to 600 hp and 738+ lb.-ft. of torque. We expect 0-60 mph acceleration and top speed figures to be ~3 seconds and 200 mph, respectively. It’s safe to assume there’ll be an RS6 Avant e-tron, too, and it should have similar specifications.
Now, will Audi introduce the electric station wagon in America? With the company already offering the A6 allroad quattro and RS6 Avant in the country, we don’t see a reason why they should not!
Also Read Audi E6 (Audi A6 e-tron) Sedan: Everything we know
TopElectricSUV says
The Audi A6 Avant e-tron would be the second series electric station wagon from a luxury automaker, following the BMW i5 Touring. The new e-tron model would build on the A6 Avant’s core strengths, which are high practicality and performance, and add eco-friendliness to the long and ever-growing list of its attractions.
In Q1 2023, 77% of all A6 units sold were in the Avant version, Automotive News Europe reported on June 8, 2023. In the A4’s case, that figure was higher – 80%. Station wagons are still sought after in Germany, which has the highest demand for this vehicle category in Europe – double that of the whole region. They’re quite popular in Sweden and Norway as well. The A6 Avant e-tron would show the four-ringed brand’s unshakeable commitment to customers in the old continent.
Featured image: TopElectricSUV’s rendering of the Audi A6 Avant EV
I got my Master’s in Business Management & Administration and have been an International Automotive News Editor since 2014. I’ve traveled to global motor shows and automotive events, driven various types of vehicles, and focused on hybrid and electric cars in the last 4 years.
