A new Audi SUV is currently roaming South African roads, but it’s unclear what it’s doing here.
We recently spotted what appeared to be a prototype version of the next-generation Q5 undergoing testing on the N1 freeway between Centurion and Pretoria.
We promptly got in contact with the local arm of the German marque to determine the purpose of this testing, assuming it would be for homologation as the SUV is scheduled to go on sale locally next year.
Colour us surprised when we learnt that Audi itself isn’t involved in the testing and it was therefore unable to confirm what it’s for.
“Audi South Africa is not involved with any testing that’s currently taking place, so the brand is not in a position to comment on the purpose,” said a spokesperson for the Four Rings.
This suggests that Audi parent company VW may be the one responsible for the prototype Q5.
Lending credence to the idea is the fact that the Audi SUV wore the exact same stickers as two VW prototypes we recently saw a few kilometres down the road.
The Audi also had an Eastern Cape number plate laying on its dash in between the various cables.
VW Group Africa’s (VWGA) factory is located in this province and it also ships and receives many of its cars from its port.
We duly reached out to VWGA to get more clarity behind the sighting, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
What’s going on?
The next-gen Q5 is definitely coming to South Africa, as it has been confirmed for a Q2 2026 launch.
Before any car is introduced to a country, it must undergo homologation to ensure that it complies to that specific market’s rules and regulations.
The Audi spokesperson confirmed that this process usually takes up to four months, so considering the launch won’t happen for another year, the prototype Q5 could be in South Africa for something else.
Head of VWGA, Martina Biene, recently revealed that the manufacturer’s domestic wing took over certain engineering “responsibilities” from VW head office in Germany.
“In our case, there’s quite a positive development currently from the German Volkswagen disaster,” said Biene at the annual #NADAConnect conference in March.
“We’ll take over responsibilities in engineering now from Germany because they see the potential in this country, there are skilled people, and labour in South Africa is cheaper than it probably is in a very high-income country like Germany, so we take over engineering capabilities.”
VW Germany has been fighting to cut costs and it seems that outsourcing jobs to countries with lower pay scales and equal talent is one of the ways it is planning to bring its expenses under control.
Therefore, it’s not impossible that VWGA is the one behind the Q5 test car, but what it’s doing with it remains shrouded in mystery.
The SUV didn’t wear any camouflage, so we can be quite certain that the testing doesn’t concern the exterior design of the car.
It’s thus more likely that VWGA could be refining a new powertrain.
The SUV had exhausts, meaning it wasn’t fully electric unless the company wanted to go to extreme lengths to confuse onlookers, so signs point to a petrol, diesel, or hybrid driveline.
There’s another hint that can be gleaned from the outlets.
For the new Q5, Audi fitted a double-square tailpipe on the left-hand side for all diesel engines, and rectangular pipes on both sides for petrol engines.
As such, we can be pretty certain that this particular example with its rectangular exhausts on both ends was running on petrol.
In its initial press release on the SUV, Audi further said: “Later in the lifecycle of the new Audi Q5, plug-in hybrids with a large battery and external charging option will also follow.”
Plug-in hybrid systems are generally matched with petrol motors, indicating that a semi-electric Q5 could be what we came across.
Unfortunately, we didn’t think to look for a charging port when we saw the SUV and the hazy photos taken from a moving car, of a moving car, make it very tough to see one.
Based on the evidence in front of us, though, there’s a solid chance that VWGA may have been tasked with testing and refining the Q5 plug-in hybrid before its global market introduction.
Another possibility is that the Q5 is here for hot weather testing, something that is carried out in South Africa rather frequently by many different manufacturers.
Vehicles respond differently in varying environments.
A car that was developed for Europe’s freezing winters and damp climate may struggle to perform at its best in the hot and arid conditions of, for instance, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
As such, companies have to tweak and tune these vehicles before they release them into warmer, drier markets.
South Africa has emerged as one of the favourite locations for such testing due to the relatively good condition of its roads outside urban areas and the fact that it’s more developed than many of its African peers.
Of course, we can’t ignore the possibility that the Q5 could just be here for homologation and that there’s nothing more to it.
VWGA may simply want to get the tedious process out of the way as soon as possible instead of waiting until the last minute.
In that case, though, Audi South Africa would probably have been involved in one way or another.
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