According to Fermin Soneira Santos of Audi Marketing, the company is working on an EV based on the MEB Entry architecture, due out in 2023 and possibly priced close to €20,000 (slightly cheaper than the VW e-Up!).
There are still no sketches or specs to discuss, but the automaker has plenty of time until 2023 to get everything right. It is expected that the compact affordable EV will have between 130 and 150 miles (210 – 240 km) of driving range and compete against the Mini Electric and Honda e in their market niche.
The first rumors that Audi might be working on an especially miniature EV emerged way back in 2013. Sources said it could be a luxed-up variant of the Volkswagen e-Up!, complete with higher-quality trim materials and more driving range. The premiere had originally been anticipated in 2015, but Audi never revealed anything like that. Since then, Seat and Skoda have built their own copies of the e-Up!, saturating the market somewhat.
The Volkswagen ID.3 hatchback, which goes on sale this summer, is going to be the first MEB-based vehicle so far. Before Audi can start working on a supermini to rival the ID.3, it will first have to launch the Q4 e-tron SUV based on the same platform.