End of the S-Line? Audi boss promises less range complexity and choice on future models

Audi is undergoing a complete aesthetic transformation, but with that will come a stark reduction in complexity across all model ranges, including the options available within them. Judging from our chat with Audi CEO, Gernot Döllner, and the brand’s new chief creative officer, Massimo Frascella, in Milan, Audi looks set for a revolution that will completely change how you order and spec a ‘premium’ car. 

The news comes on the back of the brand’s visual reinvention signalled by the new Concept C sports car. More than just a concept, it will spawn a new electric roadster and a new design language underpinned by a stronger vision that allows less opportunity for customers to personalise their cars. 

We asked whether the huge level of variation in today’s Audi models will still be available on future products, including Audi’s popular S-Line package. Massimo Frascella replied: “We’re looking at how to structure that differentiation. The key is being able to offer added value, not just offer it for the sake of it.” 

Gernard Döllner added: “We also need to keep a level of complexity that is sustainable from the business side. This is one of the advantages of reducing complexity. But also from a brand point of view, the more consistent [we are] with the main touchpoints like the steering wheel, the more recognisable it will be as Audi.

“For example, we believe that we only need three, maybe four different versions of a steering wheel. At the moment, we have over 100!”

This suggests Audi might be looking at trimming down the variations within its model lines. Premium brands started with trim lines like BMW’s M Sport and Audi’s S-Line but the level of choice for consumers has since ballooned into hundreds of different options across all elements of the car’s exterior and interior design. 

Audi plans to use the resource that goes into this to offer fewer options of far higher quality. Massimo told us: “we can build better quality elements because we’ve reduced.”

However, for many customers a key part of the ‘premium’ car buying experience is choosing from all the options or, more often the case in the UK market, selecting various option packages. These tailor the car to the customer’s preferences. But this isn’t always a profitable thing for a manufacturer to offer, as Döllner suggested, especially when multiple versions of the same part have to be developed individually throughout the car’s overall development. Audi plans to lead the way in changing the way we spec our cars. 

Want to own your own Audi? Our Buy a Car service has thousands of new Audis in stock, with prices starting at just over £20,000.