Audi Plans To Build A Tiny, Electric City Car

The model would ride on the MEB Entry platform for small EVs.

Audi has lots of electric vehicles on the way, and a tiny, Europe-focused subcompact model is apparently among them. The Four Rings' product marketing boss Fermín Soneira Santos confirms to Auto Express that the vehicle is still in the planning stages.

"It is on our horizon, yes. It’s not yet designed, but yes, we have a chance to have cars on MEB, maybe tomorrow on MEB Entry, then also the E-Tron GT. We have so many different platforms to choose from and where we can have input into," Santos told Auto Express about the small, electric Audi.

Gallery: 2019 Audi AI:ME concept

Volkswagen Group announced the MEB Entry platform in 2019 as the underpinnings for its tiniest upcoming EVs. These small city cars would also be the least expensive of the automaker's electric vehicles. The first of them should arrive in 2023 offering a minimum of 124 miles on a charge. Multiple battery options would be available for folks looking for more range.

The Audi AI:Me concept (above) from Auto Shanghai 2019 could hint at what the company is thinking for the electric city car. The little hatchback features an electric motor powering the rear axle and producing 170 horsepower (127 kilowatts). The automaker doesn't offer a range estimate, but the concept has a 65-kilowatt-hour battery. It would be surprising if Audi is able to bring the suicide doors and angled side glass to the production vehicle.

Santos doesn't specify where Audi intends to sell these little, electric cars, but they're small size and limited range doesn't seem like a good choice for the United States. Even if the Audi is among the first VW Group products to ride on the MEB Entry platform, the rapid rate of EV development could mean affordable models with longer ranges and a larger size would already be on sale in America.

Source: Auto Express