Audi recently expanded its United States lineup to include a diesel version of its A3 small car – which took home Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show – but slow global sales of the A3 will force Audi to suspend production next month.
According to Edmunds, Volkswagen’s premium Audi brand will halt production of its A3 model at the company’s Ingolstadt, Germany plant next month due to slow sales. The shutdown is scheduled for the week of February 15th, placing half of the plant’s 4,500 on temporary leave.
Audi blames the A3’s slow sales on the expiration of Germany’s Cash for Clunkers program, but the A3 itself is not without guilt. The current version of the A3 launched in 2004 and hasn’t seen much in the way of a major update. The A3, however, did receive a mild revision in 2008.
A new version of the A3 is on the way, but it is still a ways out. Audi will likely unveil the next-generation A3 later this year, but sales aren’t expected to begin until mid-2011. With little incentive to buy the current model — aside from what a dealer can offer in cash back — we suspect the A3 will endure a few more hardships over the next year and a half.
