A new report out of Germany suggests that Audi will not develop new three-door versions of the A1 and A3, nor will the brand build a next-generation A3 Cabriolet.
German magazine Handelsblatt reports that the three-door variants in the A1 range will fall away when the second-generation model arrives in 2017, thanks to slow sales.
The publication adds that the three-door A3 has also not been very popular with Audi buyers, with the five-door Sportback model selling ten times as many units as its smaller sibling. The three-door A3, too, is expected to be discontinued when the next-generation A3 debuts in the coming years (the third-gen has only recently received a mid-cycle facelift).
The A3 Cabriolet, meanwhile, is also set to be killed off, with Handelsblatt reporting that the Ingolstadt automaker sold just 19 292 units of this derivative in 2015.
As part of the Volkswagen Group, Audi is, of course, still recovering from the costly diesel emissions scandal, and its new strategy is expected to put the focus squarely on electric vehicles and autonomous driving. And the axing of next-generation versions of these slow-selling three-door derivatives would, naturally, free up development budget.
