Automakers have latched onto and sucked continuously on the fleshy meat that is consumer demand for SUVs, crossovers, and an imaginary segment known as the coupe-SUV. The latter of which is a filled by a small number of SUVs that have manufacturer proclaimed “coupe-like dimensions” while riding on jacked-up, SUV-like suspension. It’s a mishmash of vehicle types, really, but we’ll leave that discussion for another time. The point is, our insatiable love for SUVs have led automakers to believe that the market is going to continue growing almost indefinitely. So much so that Ford believes it’s going to account for more than 45 percent of the auto industry within the next five or seven years. But, Ford isn’t the only one, as we’ve just received word that the Audi Q8 and, surprisingly, the Audi Q4 are about to go into production.
The Audi Q8, which we’ve already seen in concept form more than once, with the Q8 E-tron Concept getting a ton of attention at the Detroit Auto Show and it’s sibling – the Q8 Sport Concept – garnering its fair share of attention from the Geneva International Motor Show. They were obviously big hits, and Audi is wasting no time on the production version – it’s slated to go into production sometime in 2018 (probably early-2018) in Slovakia. The model will be Audi’s range-topping SUV, dethroning the Q7 and increasing Audi’s personal chunk of the Luxury SUV segment. It will be produced alongside the Q7 s and Q7 e-tron.
Then you’ve got this mythical creature known as the Audi Q4. This model has been rumored for years but was finally confirmed back in 2011 when VAG’s design boss confirmed that it and the Q6 were coming. Well, after that the trail went cold for a while, but then we saw the 2014 Audi TT Offroad Concept and the rumors began to fly that this concept was going to be the basis for the Q4. It wasn’t until 2016 that Audi finally got the Q4 name from FCA. It was trademarked six months later, and now we finally hear that it’s set to go into production as a “compact utility vehicle” at BMW’s Hungary plant in 2019.
Keep reading for the rest of the story
from Top Speed http://ift.tt/2pu0G1O
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