Car enthusiasts, especially Audi fans will have to wait awhile until Audi launch three new SUVs due to marketing reasons. These SUVs are known under one model, the compact Q5, it just so happened that a diesel and hybrid versions of it will also be introduced at the end of the decade.

The delay is because Audi want to avoid its newest entrants from getting lost in the ether of year-end sales drives, by marketing all three vehicles as 2010 models. The Q5 was originally set to be available in the third quarter of 2008.

The Q5 is said to compete BMW’s X3 and Mercedes’ upcoming GLK. The new compact SUV has actually been under development for some time and finding a home atop the VW Tiguan platform. By the time of the launching of Q5, the diesel variant of the Q7 will also be offered. It is said that the diesel variant will be equipped with a three-liter turbo-diesel V6, producing 230 HP and 400 lb.-ft. of torque. Since the new engine will be 50-state compliant, it’s “just a matter of formality,” according to Audi’s U.S. head Johan de Nysschen, that the oilburner will find its way into the A4, A6 and A8 models of the future.

Reports say that all three vehicles, along with the 280 HP V6 hybrid-equipped Q7 will be launched in Detroit in 2009.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 at 5:54 am and is filed under Audi News, New Audi Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.