The automaker just filed for a trademark in the European Union that suggests another new vehicle, one that could be a complete departure from its current vehicles, potentially called E7X. But whether it's a new electric SUV, an allroad-style lifted sedan, or a sleek five-door in the vein of the bygone A7 Sportback, we're not quite sure.
A Name That Defies Current Convention
The name E7X, filed on December 2 in the European Union Intellectual Property Office, is a little confusing, as it doesn't conform to Audi's current two-letter naming scheme that uses As for cars and Qs for SUVs, with S and RS prefixes for its sporty models. That makes it hard to speculate what the German automaker might be cooking up, except that the E at the beginning almost certainly means the new product will be electric.
The E7X might therefore be a midsize or large electric crossover that will live alongside the internal-combustion Q7, perhaps as a replacement for the discontinued Q8 EV, whose replacement has been rumored to be built in the U.S. Then again, Audi currently uses the e-tron nomenclature to refer to its electric vehicles – whether they have an internal combustion counterpart or not – so we're still a little confused as to why it would come up with a new naming scheme for such a product.
The X at the end of the name is another head-scratcher. Saab once used the term to set apart some of its vehicles (like the Subaru-based 9-2X, crossover-style 9-3X wagon, and "Trollblazer" 9-7X SUV) that had all-wheel drive, suggesting greater capability. But Audi already uses the "allroad" nomenclature to the same effect for its station wagons, which makes us think the automaker might be considering another form factor for the E7X, perhaps a rugged-ish, all-electric version of the sleek A7 Sportback.
The Filing Might Be A Mere Placeholder
We can't even definitively say that the name is for a new vehicle in the first place. It's possible that Audi is merely locking down the term E7X; the brand's marketing experts may have identified that naming convention for a potential future product lineup, which gave lawyers the onus to secure it with a trademark. If the automaker doesn't end up using it on something – be it a concept or production vehicle – in a certain amount of time, then its hold on "E7X" will expire, at which point Audi may have moved onto something else.
Hell, it's even possible that the automaker trademarked the term to use it on some proprietary technology, like an EV-specific vehicle platform or unique kind of propulsion motor. The current Audi e-tron GT rides on the J1 architecture shared with the Porsche Taycan, and both cars are getting on in years. Their successors are likely to end up on Premium Platform Electric framework shared with the Cayenne Electric and A6 e-tron, but it's possible the two companies could codevelop another architecture for their respective flagship performance EVs.
Unfortunately, trademark filings don't contain timeline information, so we can't even speculate on when or if we'll find out what E7X means for Audi. An EU trademark lasts for 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely, but it can be revoked after five years if the holder hasn't used it on a legitimate product. That suggests that Audi's got till 2030 to tell us what's going on with the weird new nomenclature.
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