Audi is planning a new electric concept for Geneva and new reports suggest it could take aim at the Model 3.
It became evident a few weeks back that a new Audi e-tron concept was readying itself for the Geneva Auto Show. It’s supposed to be a smaller version of the current Audi e-tron SUV, but a recent report from Automotive News Europe suggests it may actually be a hatchback.
These are just rumors at this point, but we may see an entry-level Audi e-tron concept at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show that’s built on the car-sized MEB electric vehicle platform also used on the Volkswagen I.D. Neo Hatchback concept.
Instead of Audi unveiling a small premium electric SUV, it would make sense to unveil some form of electric hatchback that would then compete in the entry-level EV segment with the Tesla Model S, but also with the BMW i3 and top-of-the-line Hyundai Kona EV.
Yes, we’re speculating here. We may even have let our personal feelings get in the way. You would have asked yesterday what Audi was presenting in Geneva and we would have answered a smaller e-tron electric SUV. Something to slot beneath the current e-tron going on sale shortly.
A kind of pioneer of the compact luxury electric SUV segment, if you will. The thought that it may actually be a hatchback and therefore a more direct Tesla Model 3 competitor is certainly more entertaining. Porsche and Audi recently discovered that the entry-level Tesla was more complex than they had imagined, but that doesn’t mean they won’t want to compete directly with it.
Imagine a world where the Tesla Model S has to take on the Taycan and e-tron GT, and the Model 3 has to face a smaller Audi e-tron GT and some kind of entry-level Porsche EV. That’s a world we could live in.
