audi a6 e tron concept car in a futuristic garden

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The 2026 Audi A6 EV: Everything You Need to Know

Audi’s next-generation A6 is going all-electric.

Published February 28, 2024

After years of engaging half-heartedly with electric and electrified vehicles for years — teasing buyers with all-electric R8s and then offering only plug-in hybrid A3s — the last half-decade has seen Audi push fairly aggressively into the world of new EVs.

The carmaker’s battery-powered rollout has branched into many popular categories, from multiple sizes of SUVs (the Q4 E-Tron, the Q8 E-Tron) to aggressive, high-performance four-door sports cars (the E-Tron GT). More are coming, and soon; next out of the gate will be the Q6 E-Tron, a midsize crossover slotting between the brand’s existing duo of two-box EVs.

But while high-end speed machines and boxy crossovers may appeal to many, there’s still a sizable chunk of the market for whom only traditional family cars — sedans and station wagons — will do. For them, Audi is about to take its fabled A6 electric. In fact, within a year or two, the only new A6 you’ll be able to buy will be powered by electrons.

But there’s more to the story than that. Here’s what we know about the next-generation version of Audi’s midsize sedan and wagon.

The next Audi A6 will be electric-only

The A6 name is one of the better-known ones in the Audi portfolio; it dates back to 1994, and has graced some of the most visually attractive models the carmaker has ever built. (That goes doubly so if you include the RS 6 versions.)

So moving the A6 badge onto an electric-only vehicle is a clear statement of the brand’s EV intentions. Simply put, the new A6 EV proves Audi isn’t messing around.

side view of the silver audi a6 e tron concept car — The A6 E-Tron concept of 2021.

… but there should still be a gas-powered replacement for the current model, too

Of course, as innovative and exciting as EVs are, they’re not for everyone, and they won’t be for a very long time. (Just ask Mercedes-Benz.) While the A6 is going all-in on electricity, Audi as a whole isn’t.

Under Audi’s new nomenclature strategy, as Car and Driver revealed after hearing from CEO Markus Duesmann, even numbered models will use electric power, while odd-numbered ones will stick with internal combustion. So the next Audi A6 will be a battery-powered sedan, but the next A7 will be a gas-powered one. (No word whether it will keep the current A7’s fastback body.) To keep it and other gas models competitive, Audi is working on a new architecture called “Premium Platform Combustion” that will serve as the (very flexible) framework for all future internal-combustion vehicles to roll out.

Whether the new A6 will also have “E-Tron” in its name remains to be seen. Given that all even-numbered cars will soon be EVs, it seems redundant. Then again, Audi really does love the name “E-Tron.”

The new Audi A6 will use the same platform as the Porsche Macan EV

Just like the Q6 E-Tron crossover that’s been all-but-entirely revealed (the image below is technically camouflaged?) and the all-new all-electric Porsche Macan, the next A6 will use the VW new car architecture known as “Premium Platform Electric,” or “PPE.” While it provides minimal protection against the coronavirus, PPE is designed for higher-end vehicles too large to work well with the Volkswagen group’s existing MLB platform, found underpinning the likes of the ID.4.

the audi q6 e tron electric crossover wearing black and white and gray paint — The Audi Q6 E-Tron.

The PPE platform utilized 800-volt architecture and can recharge at rates of up to 270 kW, making it one of the quicker-charging EV systems on the planet. Back in 2022, maximum power was indicated at 603 horsepower, but given the development time since then, it’s certainly possible that the VW Group has squeezed more from the setup.

The next A6 should feature Audi’s new design language

So far, we’ve only seen spy photos of camouflaged A6 prototypes making their way around public roads during testing — but even the camo can’t hide the new face that these Audis wear. Other than the black vinyl covering up the “grille” (and making it obvious that it’s not an internal-combustion car), the most notable feature about the front end is the bifurcated light arrangement, with a thin strip of running lights up top and a thicker horizontal band below with the headlamps.

front end of audi q6 etron — The Q6 E-tron’s front fascia appears to offer a split-headlight look similar to the spy photos of the next A6.

It’s a look that’s similar in some ways to the new Porsche Macan, which also features split front lights. (It’s become an increasingly popular trend among automotive manufacturers in general, ever since it was first introduced on the Nissan Juke nearly a decade and a half ago.)

There will, of course, be a new Avant station wagon version

Spy photographers have captured images of an Avant (a.k.a station wagon) version of the next-gen A6 out testing, revealing a sleek two-box shape that does justice to the long, proud history of A6 Avants of yore. Whether they come to the United States is a mystery; given how long it’s been since a regular Audi wagon came here, we doubt it, but there’s one version that we suspect will make it Stateside…

…and there should be an all-electric RS 6 in the works, as well

audi rs 6 avant wagon parked in front of the golden gate bridge

The rip-roaring Audi RS 6 has only been available in Avant form in its most recent generation, and — along with the crossover-lite Allroad version — has also been the way to score an A6 wagon hear in the United States recently. Audi has made little secret that it aims to find ways to bring the RS sub-brand into the electric era.

Citing sources inside Audi, Autocar claims that both all-electric RS 6 sedan and RS 6 Avant wagons are planned for the next-gen model, allegedly packing more performance than the existing gas-powered RS 6. Expect a power output between the 603 horses of the Macan Turbo and the 938 horsepower of the new Taycan Turbo S.

The new Audi A6 will likely be revealed in 2024

Audi hasn’t been open about admitting when the production version of the all-electric A6 will go on sale, but considering the concept car version debuted in the spring of 2021 and other PPE-related projects are rolling out in production or near-production spec, we believe the final version of the next-gen A6 will debut this year. If it does, expect the first versions to hit the streets six to 12 months later … assuming everything goes to plan, which is always a question mark when rolling out a brand-new car on an all-new platform.