Pour one out for the A5 Coupe and Cabriolet. The two-door models are gone from the US lineup, including their hotter S5 and RS5 siblings. For the 2025 model year, Audi will only sell the more practical five-door A5 Sportback and its performance versions. The German luxury brand is streamlining its portfolio by dropping its BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible competitor.
Usually, we'd say the decision to phase out aging cars is because the next generation is right around the corner. However, we haven't seen any spy shots of the new A5 with two doors. It's unclear whether Audi will do another coupe and/or a cabriolet. To date, there have only been spy images of prototypes portraying the A5 Sportback and the A5 Avant.
Yes, you've read that right–the outgoing A4 Avant will be replaced by an A5 wagon. It's part of the German luxury brand's decision to have cars with combustion engines carry odd numbers in their names while EVs will all have even numbers. For this reason, the ICE-powered A6 will become the A7, leaving room in the lineup for an electric A6 E-Tron.
As to why the future looks grim for the A5 Coupe and A5 Cabriolet, the reality is that two-door cars are slow sellers. Lest we forget Audi has already discontinued the TT and the R8. Granted, those were niche models. The A3 Cabriolet has been gone from the lineup for many years.
Archrival Mercedes fused the C-Class Coupe/Convertible and E-Class Coupe/Convertible to create the CLE Coupe/Convertible. In addition, the three-pointed star has axed the SLC, S-Class Coupe/Convertible, and the AMG GT Convertible.
Over in Munich, BMW will allegedly not give the two-door 4 Series models a new generation, at least not with combustion engines. In addition, the Z4 and 8 Series are believed to be living on borrowed time. With crossovers and SUVs continuing to be all the rage, it's no wonder coupes and convertibles are being gradually retired.
Looking at the sales numbers, the A5 is actually up through June by five percent in the US. Deliveries rose to 12,826 units, but that number includes the Sportback as well. Sadly, Audi doesn't break down sales for the three body styles. Chances are the five-door model did all the heavy lifting.
Audi has confirmed the all-new A5 will premiere this year as a Sportback. It remains to be seen whether there will be a successor to the A4 Sedan since car paparazzi haven't seen any prototypes with a trunk lid. It might mean the A5 Sportback will replace the A4 Sedan but nothing is official. It's hard to believe the folks from Ingolstadt won’t have a direct competitor for the Mercedes C-Class and BMW 3 Series.
The revamped A5 is going to sit on Audi's Premium Platform Combustion (PPC), effectively an evolution of the current MLB architecture. It'll feature the latest and likely the last iteration of gasoline and diesel engines developed by the German luxury brand. Unless there has been a change of plans, Audi still wants to go completely electric by 2033.
As for the A4 moniker, it will return later this decade for an E-Tron electric sedan to fight the upcoming Mercedes EQC and BMW i3 sedans.
