The Replacement of Audi A3 Will Come as a Compact Electric Vehicle

There is no confirmation on the official name of this compact Audi EV, but Audi’s chief technology officer Oliver Hoffman mentioned to Autocar that this A-segment EV will be “equivalent to the A3.” It is possible that it may retain the A3 branding, perhaps with the addition of “e-tron” at the end, following Audi’s current electric vehicle nomenclature trends.

Regardless of the final name, the electric Audi A3 successor will differ significantly from Audi’s existing lineup of electric vehicles. While the Q4 e-tron and e-tron GT currently utilize the Volkswagen Group’s MEB and J1 platforms respectively, the EV A3 will be underpinned by Volkswagen’s new SSP (Scalable Systems Platform) chassis, a notable advancement from the current MEB platform.

The SSP platform offers enhanced modularity for a wider range of vehicle types, improved center of gravity owing to lower floor height, and supports 800-volt architecture for rapid charging. Hoffman mentioned that SSP can accommodate vehicles with ranges up to 435 miles, although the compact A3 replacement is unlikely to feature a battery capacity that large. VW has also developed the SSP platform with future solid-state batteries in mind, providing potential for future technological advancements.

The electric Audi A3 successor will be available in two versions: a five-door hatchback and a four-door sedan. Historically, North America tends to receive only the sedan variant. As an electric vehicle, the A3 EV will be rear-wheel-drive, marking a departure from the traditional all-wheel-drive setup in Audi A3 models. Similarly to other VW and Audi models, the rear-wheel drive will be standard, with dual-motor all-wheel-drive configurations being optional.

While no specific details about performance variants were revealed, Audi’s past lineup evolution suggests that a sportier “S” model and a high-performance “RS” variant could be in the pipeline. Therefore, it is conceivable that an electric Audi RS3 may make an appearance before the decade concludes.

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