Followup: In March, Audi executive vice president Johan de Nysschen said the planned Q7 Hybrid would not be imported to America due to the declining U.S. dollar. Now, an Audi spokesperson has told Germany’s Der Spiegel the Q7 Hybrid has been shelved entirely.
According to the report, sales projections were not sufficient to warrant production of the vehicle. We suspect Audi launched a review of the program after deciding not to offer the car in America. Undoubtedly, without the world’s number-one SUV market in the equation, the numbers simply didn’t add up.
Original Story (March 24th): The weak U.S. dollar has halted plans to launch the Audi Q7 Hybrid in the United States. Originally scheduled to go on sale in early 2009, the hybrid SUV will not make it to the U.S. market as planned, said executive vice president Johan de Nysschen.
The crossover SUV will still be available to some U.S. customers, but it will be special order and extremely low volume. It will also probably carry a disproportionately high price tag.
“If you look at the way the economics are going, it was a very hard car to make the numbers work,” de Nysschen told trade publication Automotive News.
Audi will move ahead with plans to offer a diesel version of the Q7, which de Nysschen and team feel will be sufficient to satisfy U.S. customers looking for better fuel economy or more environmental friendliness. Availability will begin in under a year.
Output for the 3.0-liter diesel V6 is 240 horsepower and 406 pound-feet torque. Audi claims the new engine is 35 percent more efficient than a comparable gasoline engine. The hybrid model offers 280 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque.
03/24, 9:53 AM
posted by:
snork
Not a huge deal as they said if they get the diesel going over here too. Less cost, slightly less HP, but way more torque than the hybrid and the fuel economy will probably be about the same in the end.
03/24, 9:55 AM
posted by:
SwerveEarly
The least of our worries considering the weak dollar.
03/24, 10:57 AM
posted by:
corvette
i rather a cayenne hybrid anyway.
03/24, 11:26 AM
posted by:
Ricardo Head
No loss here.
03/24, 1:42 PM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
GM’s own Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade hybrids have already proven that you CAN have a hybrid powertrain with reliability, durability and hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles built into a high quality, stylish package.
Completely 100% opposite what a bunch of German slimeballs will build for you at Audi! Which would any true American buy with their hard earned bucks, a well built, powerful, capable American luxury rig or some cheap-ass, flimsy econobox built by a bunch if incompetent foreign pigs that will put you in the poor farm right up until 50 thousand miles when it becomes recycled for beer cans?
03/24, 2:36 PM
posted by:
WEKS
I don’t even know how Audi can get permission to sell their cars in the US, what with they being so flimsy. Hell, how they even survive in one piece over the Atlantic is beyond me.
03/24, 7:18 PM
posted by:
audi-lover
^ Audi has been doing great in the U.S., you retard. This is just an example of how badly Bush has ****ed up America.
WE NEED CHANGE
Obama for president!!!!!
03/24, 7:19 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
We need Change!
Root for poresident!
03/25, 4:02 AM
posted by:
BlackX
**** hybrids, bring on V12 TDI
03/26, 7:37 AM
posted by:
E60M5
Dont blame it on the weak dollar. It wont be available in the US for a simple reason. No one’s interested that’s why
03/27, 7:03 PM
posted by:
bigp
the weak dollar is killing everything
07/28, 12:04 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
They need to just shelve the whole Q7 program… it’s another Porsche Cayenne rebadge… just like the Touraeg.
07/28, 12:08 PM
posted by:
xyunya
Someone has some sense at Audi.
07/28, 12:09 PM
posted by:
xyunya
I think Q7 is larger and notch cheaper then Cayenne. It has great reviews in diesel form. Basically, same feel as 4.2L V8 but with improved economy and slightly better passing effort on highway.
07/28, 12:19 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
The Touareg got great reviews in diesel form too. I think it’s the engine getting the ratings, not the vehicle.
07/28, 12:29 PM
posted by:
fuk-u-asshole
need more oil for GM,
what a ****ing twat. what sort of statement is this so make
“GM’s own Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade hybrids have already proven that you CAN have a hybrid powertrain with reliability, durability and hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles built into a high quality, stylish package.”
you horribly deluded man. these bunch of suv are a mess. terrible packaging,cheap materials,poor dynamics and refinment and then you say sylish ( not that the q7 is stylish I hate it’s looks).
you are one blind ****er redneck idiot. the state of these blocks with big HYBRID sticker on the side practically a joke and then the **** MPG. motoring press in europe and probably the rest of the world laughed when the seen these trio.
07/28, 12:39 PM
posted by:
02WRXPSM
Have any of you seen a Q7 in person? Holy crap, they are the size of a bus. If there is a Touareg in there, they stretched it by 2 feet. It really is a monster, van-sized without the sliding door. I don’t think any vehicle that wifey has to step up to get into is going to do well in the US marketplace in a world of $4.00 gas and 17% minimum credit cards.
07/28, 12:44 PM
posted by:
peacemf
oh please the europeans can build cars that look good outside and in (excluding Audi)….
for god’s sake american cars have WORDS on their buttons like “FAN” and their interiors are built by japanese! (they cant do interiors, just engines and looks!)
07/28, 1:19 PM
posted by:
golf4me
Diesel, yes
Hype-rid, no
Audi got it right. Hybrids are more of a fad than SUV’s were, and good luck getting them repaired after warranty, folks. Dumb folks, that is. Hope they dump the old batteries in your backyard, and you have to drink a gallon of the groundwater every day. Then maybe you’ll get smart, if you don’t die instantly.
07/28, 2:32 PM
posted by:
F451
This vehicle was certainly taking off in a big way until fuel prices escalated in the U.S. 
07/28, 8:57 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
peacemf- Not ALL American cars have words on their buttons. And even if they do, what’s the problem with that? A lot of sound and computer systems are built by Japanese companies because they’ve been doing them for so long, but other than that not much of the interior comes from Japan. Some American interiors are GREAT, it just depends on what cars your looking at. Nearly all vehicles from the 50’s and 60’s had some RIDICULOUS, amazing interiors. I was looking at an old Chrysler NY the other day, and you can’t help but notice things like the battery and fuel gauge wrapped around the steering wheel, the funky knobs and windows.
And some newer American interiors are great too. Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS, Ford GT, even some of the newer compact offerings are getting increasingly better. Would I say for the past 20 years interiors have been our strongsuit? No, but neither has it been Germans.
And what Euro cars would you really say are stunning both outside and in? And for the most part, we’re talking about vehicles that sell under 50 grand.
02wrxpsm- The first time I saw a Q7 was while camping. I thought the same thing, it does look HUGE. But you know, it’s actually a bit smaller than the Acadia?