Electric Audi A3 Successor Won't Be As New As We'd Hoped

The electric Audi A3 replacement, arriving in 2027, will still use Volkswagen's MEB Platform. This is according to Audi technical development head Oliver Hoffman, who confirmed the news with Autocar. The platform as it is right now was first seen on the Volkswagen ID. 3, so it's relatively ancient.

Note that current models using the electric vehicle MEB platform include the Q4 e-tron, which Audi CEO Markus Duesmann previously described as "high in demand." The thing is, the MEB platform will be outdated by 2027. The same source says it will be upgraded into the MEB-EVO to address that.

The brand hasn't shared any details about the update, but it is speculated to carry over the 400-volt hardware the platform currently uses. It will then get charging speeds of up to 200 kW, but no output figures or estimated range numbers were mentioned.

With that said, the upcoming MEB-EVO underpinning the A3 replacement will be positioned lower in the market. In contrast, the new high-tech SSP platform currently being developed by the VW Group will be positioned higher on the totem pole.

Hoffman also implied that the A3's internal combustion version won't be snuffed out immediately. The caveat is that it will likely come in the form of a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) to be launched in 2026. This will be the brand's last year to release something with a gasoline-powered mill.

After 2026, Hoffman says, "we will only launch BEV cars worldwide, and that means we will bring in all our core segments - A-segment (A3) up to D-segment (A8 and Q8) battery electric vehicles. But in parallel, especially in this decade of transformation, we will have ICE and PHEV cars in parallel."

With that said, Audi going all-electric can be a problem for the company for various reasons. For instance, it might hamstring the A3's electric-powered replacement targeting young professionals. This contradicts the fact that most younger working folks live in apartments or condos where they cannot install home charging setups.

As a consolation, Audi opened about 400,000 EV charging stations worldwide last year. But again, the USA didn't get these, so the German marque better gets a move on if they want the A3 successor to do well stateside. And no, solely relying on public charging stations is a whole can of worms that someone with a 9 to 5 will not want to open.