Audi working on space-saver spare tyre for Q7

Audi’s Q7, easily the best-selling luxury SUV in the country at one time, is facing a bit of resistance from luxury car buyers in India. The problem, strangely, centres around the placement of the spare tyre, currently secured onto one of the seats in the third row.

This ‘jugaad’ is due to the fact that there is no space for a full-size spare under the boot floor. Carmakers today ditch the spare in an effort to lighten the car and get a better CO2 rating, and that also means they don’t make space for a spare. Audi dealers have tried selling the car without the spare too, but customers today are quite well informed, and demand a spare: only to find they have nowhere to put it.

The placement for the spare tyre on the Q7 has been facing a bit of resistance from luxury SUV buyers.

Audi now thinks it has a solution: a collapsible space saver. This space-efficient spare tyre is basically a small-size rim with a ‘collapsed’ or shrink-wrapped tyre draped over it. To use it, you need to pump compressed air into the tyre and wait until it inflates, the corrugated bits of rubber popping open one after another as you pump more and more air in. Audi India, in fact, is so keen to get this solution on board, company insiders say they have asked Audi AG to make sheet metal changes to the Q7’s boot area: a major hassle and expense.