Listen to Australia brings the third generation onto the market Q3 There will be a small SUV later this month, and the brand hasn’t ruled out bringing a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) option Down Under too.
Speaking at the local unveiling of the next-generation model, Audi Australia product planning manager Peter Strudwicke said that while there would be no PHEV available at launch here, the overseas Q3 E-Hybrid (Audi’s in-house PHEV branding) was very much on the radar at the brand’s local office.
“Currently we are still in the evaluation phase. We have not made a final decision yet, there is a business case and so on,” he said Daily Sparkz.
“The general interest in alternative powertrains is certainly greater than before and we are taking this into account.”
Daily Sparkz You can save thousands on a new car. Click Here to get a great deal.
At launch, the new Q3 generation will be available with three powertrains in SUV and Sportback body styles. At the lower end of the range is a new 1.5-litre turbocharged “110TSI” four-cylinder engine with 110kW and 250Nm, paired with a mild hybrid system, a first for the Q3.
This sits below the ‘150TSI’ with its 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder producing 150kW and 320Nm, while at the top of the range is a ‘195TSI’ for the 2.0-litre engine, increasing output to 195kW and 400Nm. Both the 150TSI and 195TSI powertrains do not require electrification.
“It’s the first time we’ve had a mild hybrid in Q3, so some customers are happy with the mild hybrid technology alone. We of course have the E-hybrids in the A5 and Q5, which we’ll be launching shortly,” said Mr Strudwicke.
“Part of our work is just assessing the actual response to that. That will inform our future product decisions and show how much we’re really going to focus on these powertrains in the future.”
With these three powertrains available immediately, Mr Strudwicke reiterated that Audi is currently “pretty happy with the model range”.
“This time we have three engines across all body variants; previously we only had two engines available, so we are happy with the launch mix. We will look at any variants beyond that as they become available to us,” he said.
At first glance, adding a Q3 PHEV doesn’t seem too difficult. Volkswagen Group’s MQB-Evo platform, on which the new Q3 is based, already supports several PHEV models currently or soon to be available in Australia.
These include the Cupra Terramar VZe, Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid and Volkswagen Tayron eHybrid, all of which use a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged PHEV powertrain with a total system output of 200kW and 400Nm. This is the same powertrain that is also installed in the foreign Q3-E hybrid.
The Tiguan, Tayron and Skoda Kodiaq Select PHEV are also available with a 150kW/350Nm powertrain.
Of course, Audi Australia already has a small selection of PHEVs on offer in Australia. These include the E-Hybrids A5 Sedan and Avant (estate) as well as the Q8 TFSI e, with the possibility of introducing further models such as the Q5 E-Hybrid.
On the other hand, there’s no word yet on a new generation of the souped-up RSQ3, although Mr Strudwicke has outlined that the 195TSI version of the new Q3 almost “moves towards ‘S’ performance levels” with 0-100km/h acceleration in 5.7 seconds.
For comparison, the related Audi A3 produces up to 150kW and 320Nm, while the hotter S3 produces 245kW and 420Nm and accelerates to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds.
The first-generation RSQ3 is in its phase-out phase and shares the legendary 2.5-litre turbo five-cylinder engine with 294kW/480Nm with the Audi RS3.
Asked whether it would be feasible to expand the next-generation Q3 range to include more performance-oriented variants, Mr Strudwicke said: “There would be scope for that.”
“Anything in this range would appeal to Australian buyers, so if such a powertrain became available we would definitely be interested in purchasing it,” he said.
MORE: 2026 Audi Q3 SUV and Sportback priced for Australia
MORE: Discover the Audi Q3 showroom
