It’s not like we didn’t know it was heading there, but word from Autocar Magazine‘s latest issue is that Audi will switch the A3 product range to the same MEB modular electric vehicle matrix as the Q4 when the current A3/ S3 / RS 3 range completes its lifecycle sometime around 2027.
“We have a clear view for our ‘A-segment’ based on the MEB,” said Audi AG’s Oliver Hoffmann to Autocar.
Without attributing it to Hoffmann, the Autocar story suggests plans for a 5-door and sedan presumably much like today’s Sportback and sedan body styles. It also mentions a possible Q2 SUV.
One other question may be that of the name. The story also questions whether the car will be renamed A2 following Audi’s recent strategy of differentiating EV models as even numbers with internal combustion models taking on the odd numbers.
We’re not entirely sure that’d happen, and our logic centers around several reasons. First off, the expected strategy isn’t consistent with the recently revealed internal combustion Q8 facelift that remained “Q8”. Also, we’d reason that the A3, S3 and RS 3 badges have naming cache and associations with the product they represent, while A2 harks a small yet tall and high-tech city car that would highly compatible with some sort of future EV urban mobility product.
There’s another reason. We recently read some content centering around quotes from Volkswagen’s own executives about their use of the “ID.” nomenclature. For now, it denotes electric in the VW range, but as the VW range becomes more and more electric, it begins to serve less purpose. At such a point, established model badges may very well return. And, in a future Audi lineup with fewer and fewer ICE models, those numbers can and likely will be repurposed for the electric offerings.
