Audi is planning to reveal its smallest sedan, a version of the A3, at the Shanghai Auto Show next month and the company will begin selling the car in early 2014 in the United States and China.
Our contact at Audi has confirmed that the A3 sedan will be coming to South Africa, but the timing remains unclear at this stage.
In the United States, the new A3 sedan will debut as a 2015 model and will fight the new Mercedes-Benz CLA for a share of the entry-level-premium market, according to a source familiar with Audi's plans.
Audi has revealed few details of the new A3 sedan ahead of its Shanghai introduction. But Audi CEO Rupert Stadler referred to the car on Tuesday at a press briefing in Germany.
Describing the A3 sedan as "a new family member," Stadler said the car will be "an important derivative which will stimulate additional growth, especially in China and the U.S."
Speaking at a press event at Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, Stadler said the A3 "has been a driver of our growth." Since the car's launch in the mid-1990s, Audi has built nearly 3 million copies, he said.
Audi first unveiled the A3 sedan as a concept at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show. -IOL & Reuters