When is an Audi not an Audi? When it's an AUDI!

The crazy crew in Audi’s What Shall We Call Things department were at it again last week, when the firm announced a venture with MG’s parent company SAIC, developing and building models for the Chinese market. 

I accept it must be hard to come up with new names and brands that can work across different languages and continents, but it feels like a 5pm-on-a-Friday sort of meeting that led to this new joint venture being called AUDI. All in capitals, to differentiate it from Audi – and with the bonnet badge being the name written out rather than four rings. Nice and clear. 

But then this is the company that has just brought us the new A5 saloon – which actually takes over from the old A4. And isn’t a saloon. It’s basically the new A5 Sportback, what with the whole tailgate lifting, like a hatchback, from the top. But in Audi-speak, that’s a “completely new sedan concept”. Although, to be fair, a sedan that isn’t a sedan is a new concept. And the whole thing is part of a move towards Audi’s electric cars getting even-numbered names and ICE vehicles taking odd numbers.

But at least Audi’s brand department gives with one hand while it takes away with the other. The firm has finally ditched the weird power-output-based numbering that has plagued its model designations in recent years. 

It was a noble idea to have one naming system no matter how the car was powered, but numbers that seemed to randomly start at 25 and go up in jumps of five depending on what band of power they fell into made no sense. 

In isolation, who knows how powerful an A3 35 or A6 45 is? In case you’re interested, an Audi with a 25 badge means it has less than 100hp (99bhp), while a 30-badged model is 110-120hp, 35 is 150hp, and 40 means 190-210hp. It goes on from there all the way up to the 60 badge, which means over 400hp. 

But with Audi accepting the system makes little sense, it’s being phased out as new vehicles come through, starting with the revised A3 earlier this year. 

Automotive history is littered with odd naming decisions, and it may not stop any time soon, with Chinese brands like Yangwang and Hongqi on the horizon. But established marques still seem hell-bent on giving newcomers a run for their money with odd choices. 

What do you think Audi should have called its new Chinese sub brand? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section...