AUDI, spelled with all caps, has unveiled its first production model, the AUDI E5 Sportback, at the Shanghai Auto Show 2025. Things might get a bit confusing if you’re expecting this to be a typical Audi model.
To start, AUDI is a China exclusive sub-brand of the German luxury carmaker and is established in partnership with SAIC Motor to expand Audi’s presence in China, specifically on its battery electric vehicle (BEV) offerings.
As the image shows, the AUDI E5 Sportback doesn’t sport the familiar Four Rings emblem but instead features a logo of four capital letters: AUDI.
According to the company, this is intended to appeal to younger, tech-savvy Chinese consumers. We’re not sure how the typeface logo is supposed to achieve that, maybe it’s more modern and chic compared to the Four Rings emblem?
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Built on AUDI’s “Advanced Digitized Platform,” which will underpin future China-exclusive models, the E5 Sportback measures 4,881 mm long, 1,959 mm wide, and 1,478 mm tall. For context, it’s slightly shorter but wider than the Audi RS6 Avant.
The AUDI E5 Sportback closely resembles the AUDI E Concept, particularly in its minimalist and futuristic front-end design, which the company calls the “AUDI Light Frame”. This frame incorporates 1,000 individual light elements that illuminates upon unlocking the car, playing a welcome animation.
This sleek and minimalist design flows to the rear of the AUDI E5 Sportback, which features a estate-like profile. The rear end also adopts a futuristic aesthetic, with taillights mounted high on the tailgate alongside an illuminated AUDI emblem. The bottom of the tailgate echoes the light elements seen at the front.
Inside the AUDI E5 Sportback, you are greeted by a large pillar-to-pillar 27-inch 4K display with segments for the digital side cameras, hidden air vents with a fragrance diffuser offering three signature scents, a 50W wireless charging pad, three-dimensional wood inlays on the door cards, and a dimmable panoramic sunroof.
The massive display is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chipset running on AUDI OS operating system, with dedicated segments for the driver’s digital instrument panel and the infotainment system. The AUDI OS system is also capable of over-the-air (OTA) updates for all vehicle functions.
According to AUDI, users can personalise the screen layout and access a range of applications through a facial-recognition-enabled in-app store.
Powertrain wise, the AUDI E5 Sportback is offered exclusively with battery electric vehicle (BEV) powertrains, providing four output levels. These configurations power either the rear wheels (RWD) or feature quattro all-wheel drive (AWD), delivering 299 hp (220 kW), 408 hp (300 kW), 578 hp (425 kW), and 787 hp (579 kW).
This enables the AUDI E5 Sportback to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, presumably for the most powerful variant with 787 hp. Enhancing its handling and ride are also all-wheel steering and adaptive air suspension with continuous damping control (CDC).
The AUDI E5 Sportback features a battery pack with a capacity up to 100 kWh, which allows a range exceeding 770 km, although the testing standard remains undisclosed. However, the similarly sized battery pack in the AUDI E Concept offered a range of 700 km under the CLTC cycle.
Equipped with a LiDAR-based AUDI 360 Assisted Driving system, the E5 Sportback boasts a 29-sensor ADAS suite tailored for China’s roads. This includes enhanced recognition of tricycles and delivery riders, obstacle bypass, and traffic light identification.
These active safety features are optimised for vulnerable users and night time driving. The system also offers parking assistance, including cross-floor memory parking allowing the car to manoeuvre itself into pre-memorised parking spaces in locations like shopping centres or parking lots.
Following the debut of the AUDI E5 Sportback which is set to be introduced to the market in summer 2025, the company states that two more all-electric AUDI models will be launched in 2026 and 2027.
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