2015 Audi Q7 to Become the Company's First Diesel Plug-in Hybrid

Peugeot, Citroen, Volvo and Mercedes have all built hybrid diesel powertrains, proving that you really can combine oil-burners and electricity into one even more efficient package. Now, Audi wants to do the same with its next Q7 and it promises to be a plug-in as well.

Sources close to the Ingolstadt automaker have revealed that the Mk2 version of this popular SUV will have a diesel plug-in powertrain a few years from now, likely to be marketed under the e-tron badge. It will not be available from launch, but should make use of an already existing 3.0 TDI.

The same sort of technology is also being prepared for the next generation of A8 sedan, expected to come out in the later part of 2016. However, since the the Q7 will arrive much sooner, it will be the first diesel PHEV. The funny thing is it will also be the first such system used by a Volkswagen Group car.

"The hybrid will be another argument to go for diesel in the US," Hackenberg told Automotive News Europe. "We have the combination of low CO2 emissions, necessary to meet market demand and regulations, and we have the diesel which gives a lot torque, which is very necessary for driveability."

"In the USA if you look to sportiness it is very important to be quick away from the traffic lights. In combination with the electric engine, a diesel hybrid delivers very good torque from the start," he added.

Earlier reports indicated the TDI e-tron will have 370 hp and 700 Nm (517 lb-ft) of torque. With numbers like those, a comparison with the Panamera S E-Hybrid is inevitable. Porsche's system develops 416 hp, but is less punch because it only has 590 Nm (435 lb-ft). Audi could have very easily built a petrol PHEV, but torque is much more useful in an SUV.