Unnamed sources at German automaker Audi have revealed that the next Audi A3 is expected to be an electric-only model with a maximum range of around 650 kilometres which is set to be launched in the UK in 2027.
The fifth generation A3 is expected to be based on the Volkswagen Group’s new skateboard-style Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) electric architecture – the same architecture that is soon to make its debut on the upcoming Volkswagen ID.4 saloon.
According to Audi sources speaking to Autocar, the new A3 will be offered in a choice of either standard rear- or optional four-wheel drive and will abandon all fossil fuel-based variants to pit itself against the Volkswagen ID.3.
Audi already announced in mid-2021 that it would launch its last combustion engine vehicle in 2026 on its way to selling only electric vehicles by 2032.
The SSP architecture will underpin the Volkswagen ID.4 saloon, which is reportedly being developed under the internal working title Project Trinity – which was first unveiled in early 2021 and which will be built at a new 2 billion euro ($A3 billion) factory in Wolfsburg near Volkswagen’s existing Tiguan and Golf factory.
It is also expected that the SSP architecture will underpin an related Audi model currently known as Apollon.
The switch to an all-electric A3 comes after Audi rejected a proposal to develop a new entry-level electric model on Volkswagen’s existing MEB platform – used by the Audi Q4 E-tron and the familiarly related Volkswagen ID.4 SUV and Skoda Enyaq iV.
A transition to an electric A3 means that the standard versions of the car will abandon front-wheel drive for the first time since the model’s launch back in 1996. It is nevertheless expected that the higher-end variants of the new A3 will boast twin-motor and four-wheel-drive setups.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.