Sales of Audi’s flagship took a nosedive last year, with deliveries of the A8 falling 26.3 percent to just 14,955 cars. It’s not hard to see why. The current generation is showing its age and has been around since 2017. Additionally, demand for full-size luxury sedans has steadily declined as SUVs dominate the market.
The mid-cycle facelift introduced in 2022 wasn’t enough to move the needle, and the extra-long Horch version for China, named after one of Audi’s historic forerunners, didn’t help much either. So, what’s next? Apparently even Audi isn’t sure. A spokesperson said this Automotive Week the company is still “looking for a platform for a possible successor.”
A new facelift is out of the question, because the A8 needs a new platform to meet increasingly strict regulations. Given the slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles, a purely electric successor is seen as a risky move. Porsche’s decision to launch its new three-row SUV with combustion engines first, despite originally planning it as an electric car, underlines the VW Group’s renewed caution about going all-in on electrification.
So what’s the plan? Audi could extend the life of its petrol A8 by using an extended version of the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC). This architecture already underlies the latest A5, Q5, A6 and Q6, and next year the Q7 and the very first Q9 will be added. Ingolstadt remains tight-lipped, but head of technical development Geoffrey Bouquot said Automotive Week that the future of the A8 is actively assessed:
‘We are thinking intensively about when we will launch the successor to the A8 and which drive technology is the right one.’
A decision is expected in the coming weeks. Even if an ICE replacement gets the green light, it’s unlikely to arrive before 2029, leaving a potential gap once the current A8 fails. The fourth-generation model’s lifespan has been extended until the end of 2026, but by then it will already be nine years old. Some would argue that this makes it old by flagship standards, especially if it comes from a luxury brand.
Meanwhile, BMW and Mercedes are both planning updates to their top models in 2026, which will make the 7 Series and S-Class look even fresher alongside the aging A8. In any case, Audi no longer has to worry about the Lexus LS. The Japanese rival is on its way out, but there’s a rather eccentric minivan inside, possibly even with six wheels.
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