Audi confirms A1 production

AUDI appears to have fast-tracked development of its A1 compact hatch, revealing last week that its plant in Belgium will build the direct rival to BMW’s Mini Cooper from late in 2009.

The A1 was thought to have been scheduled the new-generation A3, A8 and A6 – all of which are due in 2010/11 – in the German marque’s product-development queue, however Audi has now made it clear that the A1 is coming sooner than expected.

In a press release announcing that Audi would take over management responsibility from Volkswagen at the Brussels plant, effectively saving it from closure, Audi said: “With the plant currently undergoing restructuring, the production volume of Audi Brussels will be around 84,000 (A3) vehicles this year. From the end of 2009, the Audi A1 will be built exclusively in Brussels.”

Likely to succeed rather than sit alongside the aluminium-bodied A2, the A1 range is expected to include high-performance S1 and RS1 versions to well and truly rival – if not blow entirely off the road – the Mini Cooper S JCW and other models in the premium-light segment such as Alfa Romeo’s forthcoming Junior.

Previewed by the 2005 Shooting Brake Concept, the A1 will probably be built off VW’s new Polo platform, which will also underpin the Skoda Fabia and Seat Ibiza, and is certain to offer a range of small (1.4-litre to 2.0-litre) petrol and diesel engines.

The VW Group’s award-winning TFSI petrol engine is the obvious candidate for the S1 and RSI, in 1.8-litre form for the former and 2.0 for the latter.

Audi is working feverishly to offer a direct competitor for every BMW (or, we should now add, BMW-owned) model, and as a volume seller the A1 will play a vital role in its drive to achieve 1.5 million annual sales by 2015.

Last year Audi sold just over 900,000 units, and is aiming to crack one million in 2008.

Speaking to GoAuto last month, Audi Australia managing director Joerg Hofmann suggested that another sub-A3 was on the agenda to join the A2 at a more realistic price to rival the Mini and Mercedes-Benz’s A-class. “There will be no niche in which Audi won’t be,” he said.

At the Melbourne International Motor Show in March, Mr Hofmann said he was confident that Audi would be selling more than 10,000 cars per annum in Australia “in the next couple of years” as new models targeting niche segments come to the fore.

“You will see. We will be in every segment in a couple of years. Just by filling all the segments that we have at the moment, we will grow just by the product easily by another 30 per cent,” he said.

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