Five generations of the Audi A4 have been produced: B5, B6, B7, B8 and B9. The A4 debuted in 1994 as the successor to the Audi 80 and retained Audi’s internal B-platform lineage.
The first generation was the B5, followed by the B6, B7, B8 and B9. Audi’s generation codes can make the count confusing because the numbers do not begin at B1 for the A4 name; they continue the development history of the earlier Audi 80 family.
The A4 was offered in several body styles over its history, including saloons and Avant estates. The B6 and B7 eras also included convertible derivatives. Audi later separated the coupé, convertible and liftback branches into the A5 family, while the A4 remained the core compact executive saloon and estate line.
The final A4 generation was the B9, produced from 2015. Under Audi’s newer naming strategy, its successor family adopted the A5 name, which can lead people to count that newer car as a sixth A4 generation. For the A4 nameplate itself, five is the accepted count.