Audi celebrated the production of the three millionth A3 model since the first A3 was built 17 years ago. The milestone car is a white A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI quattro.
Present in 117 countries worldwide, the Audi A3 essentially founded the compact premium segment. “With the Audi A3, we have created a new brand segment – we have been setting standards in the compact class with innovative technology and first-class quality for 17 years now,” said Dr. Frank Dreves, Board of Management Member for Production at the German automaker.
In 2012 alone, Audi produced 152,993 cars of the A3 series in Ingolstadt. The number includes the A3 and A3 Sportback, as well as the sportier derivatives (S3 and RS3). The third generation Audi A3 has been on the market since February 2013 and makes up the highest production volume at the Ingolstadt site. Each day, 700 A3 Sportbacks roll off the assembly line.
Since 2001, parts of the Audi A3 production have been transferred from Ingolstadt to Audi’s plant in Győr, Hungary – more specifically the first generation Audi A3 Cabriolet and the Audi RS3 Sportback. The Győr plant also builds the A3 Sedan, which currently is made exclusively in Hungary, but will also be built in Foshan, China starting in early 2014.
Audi sold 913,000 units of its first generation Audi A3 (1996-2003), with the second generation (2003-2013) adding nearly 2 million cars. Launched in fall 2012, the third-generation Audi A3 adds a sedan variant for the first time and a plug-in hybrid – the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron which will launch in 2014.
PHOTO GALLERY
