FRANKFURT (Bloomberg) -- Audi will add an SUV and revamp an existing SUV next year as the luxury-car unit of Volkswagen Group widens its offerings in the auto industry’s fastest-growing segment.
The company will bring out the Q2 compact SUV and revise the Q5 as part of a spending program exceeding 3 billion euros ($3.29 billion) for 2016, Audi said in a statement.
Audi is committing to a battery-powered model by 2018 and expects to have a lineup of 60 cars and SUVs by 2020, it said.
“We are continuing with our high levels of investment in future technologies to enhance the strong position of our brand,” CEO Rupert Stadler said in the statement.
Stadler has been signaling Audi's expanded SUV plans for several months.
Audi only outlined a one-year investment budget, rather than updating a five-year rolling program, in line with a move by VW to scale back spending as the parent company deals with the cost of a diesel-emissions manipulation scandal.
Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, decided last month to trim investments on factories and equipment to 12 billion euros next year, down from 12.9 billion euros under its previous budget. CEO Matthias Mueller has vowed to weed out a bloated product range comprising more than 300 vehicles across the group.
