The next Audi A3 will be exclusively electric and will be based on Volkswagen’s future Trinity modular architecture. The A1 and Q2 being doomed to disappear, the compact would once again become the entry-level model of the brand with the rings.
Put on the market in the spring of 2020, the Audi A3, fourth of the name, should be replaced in 2026 or 2027. However, 2026 is the year that the manufacturer with the rings has chosen to market its ultimate thermal engine model. in view of become a “zero emission” brand by 2033. According to our information, the next generation of the compact will be exclusively electric.
![Audi A3 PHEV](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/a3-phev_1.jpg)
Volkswagen’s Trinity platform for the Audi A3?
In the middle of this decade, two crucial all-electric modular architectures will make their debut in the Volkswagen Group and will enable the development of all Volkswagen Group models. The eponymous brand is developing its own under the name Trinity; Audi has chosen the name Artemis. The next A3, which will be developed under the internal codename E3, will be based on the Trinity platform. Artemis will indeed be intended for larger vehicles such as the future A8 prefigured by the Grandsphere concept. For its part, Trinity will be inaugurated at Volkswagen with a model “ a little over four meters long » according to Herbert Diess, big boss of the German group, a size closer to that of an A3. Like the electric Renault Mégane E-Tech compared to the Mégane IV, the future Audi A3 could be a little shorter than its predecessor (4.31 m in Sportback) while offering similar interior space thanks to its electric powertrain allowing to combine long wheelbase and short overhangs.
![Volkswagen Trinity teaser](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/vw-trinity.jpg)
![Audi Grandsphere](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/grandsphere_1.jpg)
TO READ. Renault Mégane or Mégane E-Tech Electric (2022). Which one to choose ?
The Audi range would start with the A3
Audi planning not to renew either the A1 or the Q2 once the current models have reached the end of their cycle, the A3 would again become the brand’s entry-level at the launch of its next iteration, a role already assigned to its first two grinds before the A1 was added to the catalog. This reorganization of the offer would be part of the declared desire of the Ingolstadt manufacturer to move upmarket by refocusing its positioning around its largest and most profitable models. Until then, no 100% electric variant of the current A3 would be plannedAudi is betting on the Q4 e-tron with Volkswagen’s MEB platform to ensure its all-electric access offer.
![Audi Q4 e-tron](https://www.largus.fr/images/images/q4-etron.jpg)