Audi has unveiled the Concept C design study in Milan, presenting a first look at the styling and interiors of its next-generation models and formalising a new brand design philosophy centred on clarity and reduction.
The approach, part of a wider corporate realignment, prioritises essential forms, precise geometry and restrained surfacing across exterior and cabin execution, with technology applied only where it adds clear customer benefit.
Chief creative officer Massimo Frascella said the strategy hinges on radical simplicity, extending from body design to interior interfaces.
The Concept C embodies these principles with a vertically oriented visual signature inspired by the Auto Union Type C, a clean front end, and an interior intended to minimise distraction while delivering context-appropriate information. Audi will also display the study at IAA in Munich.
Chief executive Gernot Döllner explained that the design shift was a company-wide principle that would guide products, processes and structures. He said the brand has completed its stock-take phase and is accelerating implementation to set benchmarks in design and quality.
Audi’s broader transformation continues under the Audi Agenda launched in 2023.
In the first half of 2025 the company advanced measures to strengthen innovation and future-proof the business, including a focused portfolio strategy and changes to its China operations through a new sister brand. An agreement between the Board of Management and Works Council in March underpins competitiveness, while around €8 billion is earmarked for German sites through 2029.
By year end Audi will have introduced more than 20 new models within 24 months, renewing core nameplates including the A6 in spring and the Q3 in summer.
The Q3 Sportback e-hybrid will be shown at IAA. The rollout continues in 2026 with a fully electric entry model to be built in Ingolstadt, alongside new Audi Sport performance variants.
The brand will maintain a mixed lineup of battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and new-generation combustion models to serve key markets in Europe, China and North America during the transition to electrification.
Audi is preparing its next innovation cycle through strategic partnerships, including Volkswagen Group’s collaboration with Rivian to accelerate software development.
The marque enters Formula 1 in 2026 to prove technologies, materials and processes in top-tier motorsport, with a public preview of its programme promised shortly after the Milan reveal.
Döllner said Audi’s historic formula of innovation and technical leadership, from quattro to advances in materials and aerodynamics, remains the template as the brand moves into its next product phase under the new design credo.
