#NAIAS
Audi has had to finally acknowledge that the pool of American buyers willing to pay more than $30,000 for a hatchback is shallow. According to Oliver Stein, Audi of America's CFO, the company has finally convinced the parent company that the U.S. needs a sedan version of Audi's smallest U.S. vehicle, the A3.
Development of the A3 sedan is well underway and will likely go on sale in 2012 as a 2013 model. The U.S. will likely be the only market for the notchback version since European buyers seem to feel the same way about small sedans as Americans do about hatchbacks.
The sedan will, of course, share a front-drive-oriented platform with its Volkswagen brethren, although Audi will be pushing Quattro pretty hard. Expect power to come from a transversely mounted and more powerful version of the familiar 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. And the A3 sedan will be roughly the same size as the old A4 from 1994-'97, the so called B5 generation.
rlyon says:
07:31 AM, 01/12/10
Nice, good move for Audi. I sat in the rear seat of an A3, and I could not sit straight up (roof forced my head forward) and I had a rather difficult time exiting the vehicle. It's really a 2 seater with 4 doors or a small car for small people.
vvk says:
08:07 AM, 01/12/10
Sedan version should be a hit in Russia, Ukraine and some other countries where people strongly prefer sedans.
93aero says:
10:20 AM, 01/12/10
it seems like they are going to get rid of incentive to buy an A4. It seems too close in size to me, like having 2 3 series instead of a 1 and 3.
inlinesix says:
10:42 AM, 01/12/10
I think success will ride on price.
carlisimo says:
05:00 PM, 01/12/10
I always thought the A3 was just a shortened A4. Did the A4 grow that much bigger than the A3?
billt9 says:
06:37 PM, 01/12/10
rlyon, hatchbacks have more headroom than sedans, as the roof goes straight back.
Making it into a sedan would mean less headroom...
blueguydotcom says:
07:33 PM, 01/12/10
We have an A3. It's usefulness and appeal is rooted in the hatch configuration. As a sedan it'd be pretty darn worthless.
roar02ram says:
10:58 AM, 01/13/10
Seems that VW/Audi is really bad about product overlap...I don't see much reason to buy this over a Jetta.