While premium hybrid SUVs haven't proven their worth in the U.S. market yet, automakers will have a good fix on whether or not offering a gasoline-electric hybrid 'ute is good business sense in the coming years. Audi has apparently already made the call, and after studying the business case and watching the U.S. dollar tank, it's decided that the Q7 hybrid SUV is not bound for U.S. shores.
"It was a very hard car to make the numbers work," according to Johan de Nysschen, Audi's brand head in the U.S. "We will not do the hybrid Q7 as a conventional product offering," de Nysschen continued, saying only that a few hybrid Q7s will make the trek across the pond and find their way into the hands of "commercial" entities.
However, all is not lost for a fuel-sipping version of Audi's land yacht, with the eminent arrival of the diesel Q7 in the next year or so, the SUV will spearhead Audi's diesel offerings, followed by an oil-burning A4 around the turn of the decade.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chaz @ Mar 24th 2008 9:02AM
Well sure, the diesel's coming for people who want to save resources, and that's all well and good, but a D on the tailgate doesn't give people the self-satisfaction and greenwashed perception of cleanliness that an H can.
Aetius @ Mar 24th 2008 9:07AM
The logic of such a vehicle being a hybrid is so twisted it's not even worth going into in detail. If you actually care about your carbon footprint, go buy a Yaris.
Ian @ Mar 24th 2008 10:03AM
Diesels are NOT the way to go in the USA because that fuel is so9me 25% more expensive than gasoline. Thus hybrids are likely to sell better than diesels. Poor Audi is caught up on the expensive Euro and probably loses money on everything they sell in the US these days. But that's no excuse for pushing the diesel rather than the hybrid. All IMHO of course.
GTX141 @ Mar 24th 2008 11:50AM
Where do you live that diesel is 25% more expensive than gas?
spw @ Mar 24th 2008 10:57AM
ooops. there goes that.
Aetius - you do understand that Q7 buyers will not buy Prius out of sudden, right? They will still buy Q7... just V8 one.
So yeah, logic is still there.
11800506 @ Mar 24th 2008 11:51AM
What about the RX400h? Isn't that a premium hybrid SUV that has done well? I see tons of them around where I live.
Buckus @ Mar 24th 2008 1:48PM
I don't believe Diesel is the answer. The facts are that from a barrel of oil, you get less diesel than you get gasoline. Add to that the premium that diesels command AND the fact that diesel is currently more expensive than even premium unleaded, and the mileage savings don't add up.
Butch @ Mar 24th 2008 7:20PM
Why do we need to wait till 2010 to get a A$ diesel? Chumps. They sell bucketloads of them in Euroland, why not here? I will buy either a Acura TSX (I have an 04 now), Maxima, A4 or G35 - whoever brings the diesel over first.
Jesse Thoresen @ Mar 24th 2008 11:19PM
This is actually a good move, as a SUV is far better suited for a diesel that a hybrid.