The Audi A5 Avant, a manifesto of classicism

One of the most accomplished expressions of automotive elegance of the last twenty years has just been given a makeover. Audi has finally decided to restore luster to the A5, a model which has done a lot for its reputation as a distinguished brand playing the card of German chic, not too ostentatious.

Not entirely comfortable on the energy transition front, the Ingolstadt rings have decided to reorganize their catalog. From now on, the electric ones will have an even number and the thermal ones an odd number, a reorganization which allows the very wise A4 and the august A5 to be brought together under the same entity. Or, rather, to carry out a merger-acquisition operation for the benefit of the latter, deprived of its coupe and convertible versions – times are tough when you are not an SUV – but which inherits the Avant variant (estate) from the old A4.

Behind this regrouping of forces, there is the need to reinvigorate the A4-A5 couple, thermal models which only represent 150,000 units per year whereas they weighed 300,000 units in 2018 and even 400,000 in 2008, recalls the consultant Inovev. To regain the initiative in the face of the SUV steamroller, including within its own camp, Audi has chosen a very classic approach by favoring the Avant station wagon, the model which appears to be the most convincing proposition among the new A5 range. It should, according to Audi, represent three quarters of the approximately 4,000 registrations that the brand aims to achieve in 2025 in France.

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