Audi used the Auto Guangzhou motor show to pull the wraps off the AUDI E SUV concept, a near-production preview of the second model from its China-only AUDI sub-brand with all-caps in the name. This model, to be sold alongside the E5 Sportback that dropped earlier this year, is a large, fully electric SUV designed specifically for Chinese customers and developed through the brand’s cooperation with SAIC.
At more than five meters long and riding on a 3,060 mm wheelbase, the AUDI E SUV concept positions itself in the large premium segment. Its exterior is shaped around an upright stance with short overhangs and clean surfaces, accented by wraparound lighting graphics and vertically arranged digital Matrix LED units. The look is consistent with the design language introduced by the E5 Sportback earlier this year but scaled up for flagship duty. Beneath the surface, the SUV is built on the jointly developed Advanced Digitized Platform (ADP), which integrates Audi’s chassis and electric-drive expertise with SAIC’s strengths in software, connectivity, and user-experience systems.
Power comes from a dual-motor setup delivering 500 kW to a quattro all-wheel-drive system, enough for 0–100 km/h in roughly five seconds. A 109-kWh battery targets more than 700 km of CLTC range, supported by an 800-volt architecture capable of replenishing 320 km in ten minutes at high-power charging stations. Designed specifically for the realities of Chinese traffic, the concept also debuts the AUDI 360 Driving Assist System, which combines highway assistance, urban driving aids, and next-generation parking functions into a single locally tuned suite.
Inside, the focus is on space and digital integration, the result of the model’s long wheelbase and China-specific software stack. While Audi has not yet disclosed full interior imagery, the E SUV concept is intended to bridge what the AUDI brand describes as “prestige, practicality, and progressive electric mobility,” setting the tone for its forthcoming production variant.
Although the E SUV concept dominated Audi’s presence at Auto Guangzhou, the brand also highlighted the continued rollout of new market-specific models. The Audi A6L e-tron—its first fully electric sedan developed for China—made its show debut alongside the long-wheelbase Q6L e-tron and Q6L Sportback e-tron. These PPE-based models, produced with partner FAW, reflect Audi’s strategy of maintaining combustion-engine leadership while growing its electric portfolio in parallel.
Auto Guangzhou itself remains one of China’s major annual automotive showcases, drawing more than 100 brands and over 1,000 vehicles across 220,000 square meters of exhibition space. But Audi’s appearance this year was more than routine participation. It marked the one-year anniversary of the AUDI brand created with SAIC and gave the clearest indication yet of the product direction the new brand intends to pursue.
The production version of the AUDI E SUV concept is scheduled to debut in 2026, becoming the second model in the AUDI lineup and one of the most important electric SUVs Audi has ever developed exclusively for a single market.
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