Audi is considering bringing forward its plans and launching an affordable electric car in 2026

The German manufacturer had planned to start selling an affordable electric model, which would sit in the same segment as the A3, around 2027. However, it now appears that this could happen even sooner. That is at least what Gernot Döllner, the company’s CEO, has revealed.

According to Döllner, this affordable electric car could finally become a reality in 2026, and it would be produced at Audi’s main plant in Ingolstadt. Likewise, some rumours suggest that the German manufacturer may also move the Q4 e-tron compact SUV, currently built at the Volkswagen plant in the German town of Zwickau, to that same production site. Although this does not seem likely to happen, if confirmed, it would not take place until the first half of the next decade.

For now, details about Audi’s future new affordable electric car are very scarce. Döllner has only gone so far as to say that it will be an innovative model capable of standing out from the rest of the competition. However, it does not seem straightforward for this promise to be kept if it is based on the MEB platform, and Audi has no other alternative for an affordable electric car.

An affordable electric car may be exactly what Audi needs

As we noted in a recent article, sales of Audi’s electric models are running below expectations, and the company is being left far behind in this segment of the market by one of its main competitors, BMW. Launching an affordable model could boost sales of Audi’s electric cars, at least in terms of unit numbers, and this may be the reason the German firm is now in such a hurry to bring it to market.

The announced collaboration between Audi and the Chinese manufacturer SAIC could also bring some unexpected surprise. The German manufacturer is preparing to sell in the Chinese market its first electric model resulting from the cooperation between the two companies, and SAIC’s involvement, in one way or another, in the launch of Audi’s new affordable electric car cannot be ruled out, although there is no information on this so far.

The relationship between the Volkswagen Group, parent company of Audi, and SAIC is nothing new at all, as it dates back several decades, and it will be maintained until at least 2040. Audi appears determined to recover part of the ground lost in the electric market, betting on innovation and expanding its presence into new markets, something for which the collaboration with SAIC could be of great help.