Audi will make X6 rival, top executive says

BOLOGNA, Italy – Audi will launch a rival to the BMW X6 and may add a challenger to the Bavarian automaker's X4, a top Volkswagen executive told Automotive News Europe.

Walter de' Silva, design boss at Audi parent Volkswagen Group, confirmed that Audi has signed off on plans for the X6 rival. He declined to say when the car would arrive.

Dubbed by media as the Q6, the sporty, low-roof SUV-coupe crossover will fit between Audi's Q7 premium large SUV and Q5 premium medium SUV and try to win sales from BMW's niche-busting, hot-selling X6.

"We will definitely launch a sportier crossover in between the Q7 and Q5," de' Silva said on the sidelines of the auto show here.

Audi aims pass BMW to be the top-selling premium brand by 2015.

BMW added the X6, which is based on the X5 premium large SUV, to its lineup in 2008. The X6 has helped BMW expand sales in the premium SUV segment, which is a small, high-margin niche where each BMW model has a starting price of more than 55,000 euros.

After nine months, the X5 was Europe's top-selling premium large SUV and the X6 ranked fifth, according to data from market researcher JATO Dynamics. (See box, below)

De' Silva also said that Audi is still deciding whether to add a smaller SUV, likely named the Q4, to fit between the Q5 and Q3. The new model would be a competitor against the X4, a model that BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer has confirmed will be launched. Sources say BMW will start sales of the X4 in 2014.