Audi to focus on luxury with posher A8 and new SUV flagship

Audi is plotting a move even further upmarket, pushing the brand into prestige territory with even posher replacements for the A8 limo and Q7/Q8 SUVs that sit at the top of its line-up.

The Grandsphere concept revealed in 2021 hinted at a future ranger-topper that could move the A8 into luxury territory, with the potential for an even larger and more luxurious SUV as well, as previewed by the 2022 Urbansphere concept. And the VW-owned firm is now laying the groundwork to be perceived as even more luxurious and expensive.

“We are making a step upwards in terms of premiumness, increasing the prestige, desirability and perception of the brand, and more interested in the quality of business than the quantity,” Audi’s new UK boss Jose Miguel Aparicio told Auto Express. 

Aparicio said the raft of new products in the larger sectors, including new A6 in petrol and electric form, and new Q6 e-tron and Q5 SUVs, shifts the customer base. “We are significantly increasing the centre of gravity in terms of price because we are more present [in these sectors]; the number of customers in C and D segments we want to approach is increasing”, he said. “That means a significant increase in price, and in order to do it successfully we really need to create this brand attraction and desire. The essence for this is product innovation, but we also have to offer a premium customer experience to them; we are talking about making an evolution, moving upwards,” he continued. 

According to Aparicio, there is space below Bentley in the Volkswagen Group family for Audi to slide upwards in perception without encroaching on its luxury sibling. 

“Luxury is covered by Bentley and Porsche, and in the premium market there are many segments and many ways of bringing a proposition to a customer,” he said. “It’s not a fundamental change, it’s an evolution and has to be followed by adjustments to the customer experience; it’s something we have to do with our retail partners.”

The shift to EVs has given brands a fresh chance to change how they are viewed by customers, which is an opportunity and a threat, according to Audi’s UK boss. 

“A new era is starting and the rules are changing, so we cannot assume that those ones that were premium in the past will also be the winners for the future - we have to earn that status,” he said. “It’s important to ensure that we have the value in the product range, that we have the customer experience that really grants us this premiumness for the future in an EV battery-electric-vehicle world.”

That opens the door to the Grandsphere and Urbansphere becoming a reality, although it will be towards the end of the decade before they have a chance of hitting UK roads. 

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