It's been a little over a month since Audi closed its order books for the A8 in Germany. Although Ingolstadt hasn't explicitly confirmed that it's saying goodbye to the luxury sedan, such a move is usually a clear sign that the story is about to end. So we expected the A8 to be mentioned in the 2025 annual report, which was published today. But that wasn't the case.
The fact that such an important official document does not mention this event has further piqued our curiosity about the car's uncertain future. We asked Audi whether the upcoming seven-seat Q9 luxury SUV will take over as the flagship of the brand with the four rings in the future. The answer is more complicated than we expected. This is what A8 representative Marcel Bestle told us:
“The decision on the successor to the A8 has been made and we plan to present it towards the end of this decade. We will announce further details in due course. The Audi Q9 will expand Audi’s offering in the upper price range as a large full-size SUV.”
In other words: Audi clearly doesn't see the Q9 as a direct replacement for the A8. The latter will return one day - in some form or another. It seems logical that they won't turn it into an SUV to avoid overlapping with the Q9. Some may remember: the Grandsphere was considered a replacement for the A8 for a while. There was talk of 2024. But the concept is now almost five years old and nothing has happened.
Audi's then-head of design Marc Lichte called it a "concrete trailer" in 2023, saying the electric car was "very close" to a production model. But that didn't happen. Instead, the A8 remained in the lineup for a few more years and is still available today in important markets like the US and China.
Meanwhile, there's a lot going on in the luxury car segment. Mercedes recently overhauled the S-Class, and BMW will soon unveil a very extensive facelift for the 7 Series. With the Lexus LS ending its career, a duel for supremacy is looming in the shrinking large luxury sedan segment. Anyone who isn't satisfied with the German cars still has an alternative in the form of the Genesis G90.
