A spokesman for Audi UK has told just-auto that the forthcoming sedan version of the A3 will be sold in this market. The launch should take place within six months of the vehicle’s world premiere at next month’s Shanghai motor show.

Until now, it had been thought that the four-door version of this C-segment model would be mainly for China, the US, Germany and some southern and eastern European countries. At the UK A3 Sportback media launch, the spokesman said he believed the company would sell an average of “3,000-4,000” A3 saloons a year over the car’s lifecycle.

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Britain is one of Audi’s largest markets. Last year, sales rose by 8% year on year to 123,622 vehicles. The A3 range was the best selling model series in 2012 and is likely to remain so in 2013, with sales of around 30,000 units forecast. The Sportback reaches dealers on 16 March.

The A3 sedan for the UK and other European markets will be built at Györ, Audi says. The Hungarian plant will also make the car for North America. Audi of America does not offer a 2013 model year A3 or Sportback, the importer having decided to wait for the sedan which it will introduce during calendar 2014.

The four-door model, the first sedan in three generations of the nameplate, will also be the first A3 to be made in China. The FAW Volkswagen joint venture’s new Foshan plant will build it.

The sedan will use the same 2,637mm wheelbase version of the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform as the new A3 Sportback. The A3 has a 2,601mm wheelbase. This is in contrast to the new Golf: both three- and five-door cars have the same 2,637mm wheelbase.

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Further details of the new sedan, potentially a big selling model in both the US and China, will be revealed over the coming weeks.

Author: Glenn Brooks