The Audi Q6 e-tron was Audi's big bet on software-defined vehicles (SDV), as the first model to use the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture. This was shared among Volkswagen brands, with the Audi A6 e-tron, Q6 e-tron, and the Porsche Macan EV being the first models. However, Volkswagen Group's plans backfired when its software division, Cariad, proved inept at developing the software.
Although the Porsche Macan's development was almost complete in 2022, the software was missing. The same issues delayed Audi's EV program and eventually got Herbert Diess, Volkswagen Group's CEO, fired. Instead of a state-of-the-art electric vehicle competing with the best in the industry, the four-ring brand was left with a rebadged Volkswagen ID.4 as the only electric offering. Things are moving to the fast lane now, as our photographers caught several prototypes almost undisguised during a last-minute test session in Germany.
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