Preview image reveals that new A2 will take heavy styling inspiration from its 1990s forebear
First look at replacement for A1 and Q2, which lands this year with VW ID 3 innards and sub-£30k start price
Audi will revive the A2 name after a break of more than two decades later this year as a new electric crossover that will evoke the spirit of the original.
The German firm officially confirmed the revival of the A2, previously reported by Autocar, at its annual media conference, where it also showed a preview image of the new car for the first time, ahead of its unveiling in Autumn.
The new model, made in Audi’s Ingolstadt hometown, will serve as an indirect replacement for the soon-to-be-discontinued A1 and Q2 at the bottom of Audi’s line-up, and pricing is tipped to start from under £30,000.
The company’s CEO Gernot Döllner said the new A2 comes as part of a strategy to make the Audi EV line-up accessible to a wider market. “We’ve listened. Our customers want electric mobility that impresses in everyday life,” he said.
“The A2 e-tron is our promise to deliver exactly that – efficient, compact, and confident. We’re making entry into the electric Audi world easier and more relevant than ever.”
The A2 E-tron will be based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB electric car platform, and will be close in size and specification to the Volkswagen ID 3 electric hatch. However, as spy shots of test mules show, the Audi will have more of a crossover-influenced design with some MPV elements, giving it a profile that closely resembles that of the original A2 MPV, which was produced from 1999 until 2005.
Inside Audi, the new A2 E-tron is seen as an indirect successor to that seminal supermini, which majored on efficiency due to its lightweight aluminium architecture and slippery one-box body style. It is understood that the similar shape of the new version was driven by a similar push for aerodynamic efficiency.
Audi says the redeployment of the A2 name is a “deliberate nod” to the EV’s 1990s forebear, and pledges that the new model will continue the “mission” of the original – while the preview image shows that it will take heavy styling inspiration from it, too.
