Audi denies confirmation that A3 TDI will come to the US in fall 2009
Over at Winding Road/Next Autos this morning they have a report that Audi officials have confirmed to Chris Paukert that the A3 TDI will debut in the US market in the fall of 2009 as a 2010 model. Chris is currently on wave 3 of the Audi Mileage Marathon, and there are a pair of A3's included in the fleet. I just contacted Audi of America's Chief Communications Officer Jeff Kuhlman who categorically denied that any decision about the A3 has been finalized. Over the past week while I was participating in the marathon, we talked extensively with Audi officials about future diesel introductions beyond the Q7 TDI that launches early next year. Speaking with both Kuhlman and EVP Audi of America, Johan de Nysschen, they both expressed enthusiasm for bringing the A3 TDI to the US market. As the companies entry model here, a high mileage TDI version would be a great fit. Since the A3 shares it's architecture with the Volkswagen Jetta/Golf using the same 2.0L clean diesel as the Jetta would be natural fit. Odds are that the A3 TDI will eventually appear on US shores, but at this point nothing is official. BTW, on wave 1 Denise McCluggage and Kate McLeod averaged 45.3 mpg at the highest average speed of the entire fleet with 54.3 mph in the A3 pictured above.
[Sources: Audi, Next Autos]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil L. 12:08PM (10/14/2008)
So... Is Audi confirming their denial, or denying their confirmation?
It's just a symptom of the real problem: Diesel isn't a compelling choice in the US right now, given that fuel prices in many areas wipe out diesel's efficiency advantage. Add that to the current economic chaos, and you end up with automakers that don't want to make firm commitments.
Oh well - Audi is out of my price range anyway.
Haven't heard much from Honda laterly - are they still on track to bring their diesel to the US?
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Phil L. 12:18PM (10/14/2008)
Uggh: "laterly" = "lately"
C'mon, ABG: Give us *some* kind of basic, fix-quick-goofs edit capability.
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Kumar 5:17PM (10/14/2008)
Any bets on Audi throwing a huge diesel in there and only offering it with all the trimmings, a la MB and the 320 diesel?
Would be like BMW only bringing the coupe 1 series instead of the more-practical and more welcome-to-the-brand 5 door hatch.
As for diesel's price disadvantage, if the prices start going up again, look for it to eventually be pegged to the price of premium fuel.
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Cosmo 10:47AM (10/15/2008)
diesel = savings
diesel is about 10% more expensive than gasoline in North America...agreed.
diesel cars will likely sell for about $2000 more than the regular gasonline versions...agreed
BUT...
US Gov't offers $2000 for buying a clean diesel or a hybrid. That offsets the initial purchase cost.
Diesel delivers about 25-30% fuel efficiency vs. gasoline. That offsets the higher diesel fuel costs, and puts a few bucks your jeans. If we assume driving 15,000 miles per year, you're looking at savings of about $500 per year. This assumes you're driving a diesel with a similar power/size engine to your petrol engine.
Audi A5 3,0 TDI delivers about 30mpg average. It also delivers you from 0-60mph in 5.7 seconds!
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