As the automotive world recovers from the unveilings of last week’s Paris Motor Show, some of the carmakers attending the show announced the start of production for the one or two models they presented in France.
For Audi, aside from the e-tron, one of the major cars of the show was the new A1, the second generation of a nameplate which was born in 2010.
The Audi hatchback, presented for the first time this past summer, has entered the production queue at the SEAT facility in Martorell, Spain, becoming the second four-ringed model to be manufacturer there after the Q3 started rolling off in mid-2011.
The new A1 is being built on the same platform as the SEAT Ibiza and Arona, thus choosing to assemble it at the Spanish facility made sense for the German.
“Over the last years, the Martorell plant with its highly qualified employees has produced our Audi Q3 and made this model a great success,” said in a statement Peter Kössler, the man in charge with Audi’s logistics efforts.
“Therefore, Martorell is for us the ideal place to manufacture our new Audi A1, one of our strategic pillars in this segment.”
At market launch, the model will be offered with a choice of TFSI engines with output ranging from 95 hp to 200 hp. The entry-level engine is a three-cylinder 1.0-liter, while the top of the range comes as the 2.0-liter turbocharged.
Each of them can be mated to either a manual transmission or the S tronic dual-clutch, with the sole exception being the 40 TFSI, which will only be offered with the automatic gearbox.
The lowest trim of the new A1 is priced in Germany at €21,150, making the model the most expensive subcompact hatch on the market. For the first year of production, an Edition One version will be offered, for €27,490.
The Audi hatchback, presented for the first time this past summer, has entered the production queue at the SEAT facility in Martorell, Spain, becoming the second four-ringed model to be manufacturer there after the Q3 started rolling off in mid-2011.
The new A1 is being built on the same platform as the SEAT Ibiza and Arona, thus choosing to assemble it at the Spanish facility made sense for the German.
“Over the last years, the Martorell plant with its highly qualified employees has produced our Audi Q3 and made this model a great success,” said in a statement Peter Kössler, the man in charge with Audi’s logistics efforts.
“Therefore, Martorell is for us the ideal place to manufacture our new Audi A1, one of our strategic pillars in this segment.”
At market launch, the model will be offered with a choice of TFSI engines with output ranging from 95 hp to 200 hp. The entry-level engine is a three-cylinder 1.0-liter, while the top of the range comes as the 2.0-liter turbocharged.
Each of them can be mated to either a manual transmission or the S tronic dual-clutch, with the sole exception being the 40 TFSI, which will only be offered with the automatic gearbox.
The lowest trim of the new A1 is priced in Germany at €21,150, making the model the most expensive subcompact hatch on the market. For the first year of production, an Edition One version will be offered, for €27,490.