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Audi has new Q5 and Q2 crossovers coming this year

Update: Audi has released a teaser video for the Q2 crossover ahead of its debut in Geneva. That video is above. The original post from December continues below. Before the new year is done, Audi will introduce two new crossovers. The announcement comes as part of a planned ˆ3 billion investment plan for 2016, and will include a new Q5 as well as the addition of a new Q2 model into the range. That's pretty ambitious considering the company hadn't produced its first SUV until ten years ago. The replacement for the Q5 should be fairly straightforward, replacing a model that already exists. The current Q5 was launched in 2008 and underwent a refresh in 2012. Expect the new model to offer similar dimensions and specifications, but with improvements to help it fend off the likes of the Mercedes GLC, BMW X3, and the Porsche Macan which shares its MLB underpinnings. The arrival of the Q2, however, promises to take Audi's crossover range further downmarket. With the existing Q3 already taking on Mercedes GLA and BMW X1, the Q2 could go a size smaller to rival the next Mini Countryman. Whatever form it takes, we'll find out within the year, according to Audi. Beyond next year, Audi says it will build its first volume electric vehicle in 2018. The vehicle will take the form of a battery-powered crossover, previewed by the E-Tron Quattro concept (pictured) at the Frankfurt Motor Show this past September. With these and other additions, Audi aims to expand its range to 60 models by 2020. Audi launched into the crossover market with the debut of the original Q7 in 2005. It has since expanded its high-riding lineup with the arrival of the Q5 in 2008 and the smaller Q3 (in overseas markets at least) in 2011. The Q2 is one of several new crossovers said to be in the works at Ingolstadt, including a potential slant-back crossover coupe to be dubbed Q6 and a Q4 to put the TT Offroad concept into production. Audi Group invests in the future - Capital expenditure of more than ˆ 3 billion in 2016 - Audi CEO Rupert Stadler: "Continuing with high levels of investment in future technologies to enhance strong position" - Axel Strotbek, Board of Management Member for Finance and Organization: "Gaining financial scope through further cost optimization" - Audi Board of Management Member for Human Resources Thomas Sigi: "Looking for experts in areas important for the future" Audi will lay the foundations for future growth in 2016.

Genesis cars win accolades, offer value — so why are sales so bad?

My high-school buddy Brent Cormier was so smitten with the Genesis G80 when he saw it at an event I hosted at SXSW in 2016 he bought a used 2013 Hyundai Genesis a short time later and fell in love with the car. "It surpasses my every expectation," said Cormier, a self-described "renaissance man" who owns and runs a real estate agency with his wife Laura, is a food service executive chef and part owner of Austin-based Thin the Herd Guitars. "I was locked into Mercedes and Audi for 10 years," he added. "And felt trapped in an endless pit of maintenance costs." After owning the Genesis over the past two years — including using it as an Uber and Lyft driver to earn extra cash — Cormier learned what some frugal luxury sedan buyers and a handful of car reviewers have discovered: Genesis offers great bang for the buck compared to other premium brands and can compete with the best in terms of performance, features and comfort. Hyundai's luxury brand also earned a prominent third-party endorsement last week when for the first time Genesis topped J.D. Power's 2018 APEAL study, surpassing German luxury-performance icon Porsche. The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) "measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes," ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that bumped it up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche — and past BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking. Last month, Genesis also topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) for the first time this year. And both its models were awarded Top Safety Pick Plus ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, among 11 Plus ratings in all for Korean vehicles. Despite high J.D. Power rankings and great reviews, Genesis U.S. sales were off 50 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to 2017, and in June Genesis sold only 796 vehicles — the first time U.S. numbers dropped below 1,000 in a month. Part of Genesis's APEAL and IQS success can be attributed to its small product lineup: just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, with a third, the 2019 G70, launching later this year. And while those numbers may help in J.D.

Audi works on AI with this mini Q2 that can park itself

Audi created a special Q2 that possesses the ability to find parking spaces, drive to them, and park itself. However, you won't be able to ride in it yet, because it's rather small. The Q2 is actually a 1/8-scale electric-powered model of the compact crossover, but the technology inside should eventually scale up. The model features just two mono cameras, one facing forward and the other rearward and 10 ultrasonic sensors around the body. According to Audi, the on-board computer uses information from all of these sources to figure out where the parking space is, and what maneuvers are necessary to enter it. The Q2 uses trial and error to improve how it parks. Audi will explain this Q2 and its artificial intelligence technology at a conference in Barcelona, Spain, this week. According to Audi, the subsidiary that created this model, Audi Electronics Venture, will transfer the tech to a full-size car in the next step of the project. With cars that can parallel park autonomously, and drive semi-autonomously, it's not hard to imagine them piloting themselves through parking lots on their own in the near future. Related Video: