Audi’s small saloon ‘will create a market in all the world

Audi believes it can build a UK market for the saloon version of its A3, despite booted small cars being traditionally shunned by British buyers.

The A3 saloon launches on 21st September as the third of a soon to be four-strong A3 range.

Slotting in alongside the existing three-door A3 hatch and five-door Sportback, the Saloon will soon be joined by a Cabriolet, that was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week.

Audi PR Director Jon Zammett agrees that the expert view that compact saloons do not have a market in the UK has generally been correct – until now.

“We can offer this car because Audi is a world player and we operate in markets such as China and North America – markets in which this format of car is huge,” Zammett says.

He adds that customers are becoming consistently more demanding, requiring cars that suit their needs as perfectly as possible; “That’s one of the reasons Audi has done so well with its entries in new segments,” he says.

“With this car we are yet again challenging the product segmentation barriers that you see. We believe we will be greatly expanding the compact saloon segment, earning a lot of new customers who will find that this kind of car suits their life, their daily requirements – it’s not too small and not too big.”

Despite reporting huge interest in the Saloon particularly at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, where according to Zammett the static display car “was mobbed,” Audi refuses to predict volume numbers for the car.

“We can’t say what the volume is going to be, it’s too early to tell. This is uncharted territory for us – the first car in the compact premium saloon segment, no-one’s ever really been here.

“We know how many we can make, but in terms of expanding demand and how much passion there will be for a car like this, it could be enormous.”

The A3 Saloon becomes the 47th different model line offered by Audi, a number that has exploded since the brand began its ‘product firework’ with the Q7 SUV in 2006. Zammett also points out that Audi invented the compact premium segment with the original A3 hatch in the 1990s.

Audi is keen to emphasise that the Saloon is not a hatch with a boot added – the car is longer, lower and wider than the five-door Sportback, with a boot 45 litres bigger. Every exterior panel is bespoke to the Saloon to give it a distinctive look in the line-up.

The Saloon launches with a choice of two petrol and one diesel engines, but the choice will grow quickly – notably with a 99g/km 1.6 TDI in December and quattro 4WD and S3 performance models next year, the latter fitted with a 295bhp engine.

Zammett says that with two A1 models and four A3 variants Audi now offers many entry points at the affordable end of its model range, and thus appeals to an ever-widening range of customers.

“With these cars we are challenging the traditional segmentation that has gone before,” he says. “We believe we are going to see a lot of success for cars of this size and type, such as no other premium brand has seen before.”