Prepare for Audi's naming structure to become slightly more complicated. The German luxury brand has revealed its new naming structure, which will allow Audi to incorporate vehicles with nonconventional powertrains, such as plug-in hybrids and electric cars, into its naming scheme.

To be clear, the names of Audi vehicles will not change. The brand's lineup will still use the A3, A4, Q5, Q7 and so on to denote segment and model. However, the change will come to the models' surnames. Currently, Audi vehicles feature their engine displacement as an identifier, followed by the type of engine. For example, the Audi A3 features the "1.0 TFSI" badging in Europe. Now, Audi will assign each model a double-digit numerical value.

Per Audi, the numerical value is not associated with horsepower ratings or engine displacement at all. Instead, the lowest-powered cars will receive a "30" badge, while Audi's most powerful vehicles will be donned with a "70 badge." To return to our previous example, the Audi A3 1.0 TFSI will become the Audi A3 30 TFSI.

The hierarchy will go as follows. Audi vehicles with:

  • 109 to 129 horsepower will receive the "30" badge
  • 227 to 248 hp will get the "45" badge
  • values will continue to increase by measures of five
  • vehicles with more than 536 hp will receive the top "70" badge.

However, Audi's high-performance S and RS vehicles will not be subject to the new nomenclature. Ditto for the Audi R8.

Audi's announcement arrived from its global operations and the release states the changes will go into effect worldwide beginning with the 2019 Audi A8, which launches this fall. However, Audi USA has not confirmed the new naming structure for the United States, despite the brand's comments alluding to a global rollout.

With the naming changes, Audi will be able to properly include its e-Tron electric vehicles without needing to denote engine displacement.