FIRST DRIVE | New Audi Q5 brings bold styling and refinement to a shrinking luxury market
Audi has launched the third-generation Q5 in South Africa, positioning it as a key model in its strategy to focus on profitable luxury vehicles. The new SUV features updated styling, improved interior refinement, and multiple engine variants to compete with the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC.
Why it matters
This launch highlights the shifting strategy of luxury automakers in emerging markets as they pivot away from entry-level models toward high-margin SUVs.
Audi’s South African dealer footprint has been significantly reduced due to the luxury car market experiencing a 70% decline in the past decade due to a buying-down trend, where consumers have shifted to more affordable brands.
The brand has also globally discontinued models such as the A1 hatchback and Q2 SUV as it pivots towards more profitable vehicles. One of the most important cars remaining in the stable is the Q5, the German marque’s second-best-selling Q model after the Q3, and it has just been launched locally in third-generation guise.
Competing against the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC, the Q5 is part of a new-model onslaught from the Four Rings in South Africa that saw the reveal of the Q3 in July, to be followed by the introduction of the new Q7 and flagship Q9 ranges in 2027.
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