As the world is trying hard to transition to the electric platform as quickly as possible Audi has also announced that from 2027 onwards, its A3 will follow suit.
The electric variant of the Audi A3 E-Tron will be based on the flagship project Trinity’s SSP platform.
This means that the A3 will be different from the current E-Tron Q4 SUV which is based on the MEB platform.
When Will The SSP Be Launched?
While the MEB is still regarded as a great platform, the SSP or Scalable Systems Platform is the new way to go. The MEB will be completely replaced by the SSP by 2026.
Expected Features Of The A3 E-Tron All-Electric
The new SSP architecture based A3 is likely to have a range of over 700 km and an impressive 0 to 97 kph acceleration time of around 5 seconds.
The launch is still five years from now but this hasn’t stopped fans of the company from releasing various renders.
All of them reflect that the vehicle will have an aggressive stance, thanks to its larger diffuser and bold rear lights.
What Is The SSP?
This brings us to the elephant in the room, which is exactly what the SSP is. Well, it’s the latest mechatronics platform from the German VW group and is expected to span over a total of forty million vehicles during its lifetime.
This is VW’s attempt to secure its position as one of the leading automakers even in the automotive world dominated by EVs.
Successor To Which VW Group Platforms?
The SSP is basically the successor of various VW platforms that the company has used in the past. These include MSB, MQB, MLB, PPE and MEB platforms.
The VW group will develop most of the technology used in the SSP at its R&D centre located in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Total Budget For The SSP?
The project is so humongous that the company is expected to invest around €800 million (£680 million) in the SSP.
The core idea behind the development of the SSP platform is that VW believes that development should not be based on individual components. Rather it has to be based on functions.
What Will Be The Main Benefits Of Using The SSP?
Here are some of the pivotal benefits that the company will devise from using the SSP:
- Reduction of development times by a quarter;
- Software rollouts will be faster;
- Production will increase.
The vehicle projects will thus be completed in 40 months instead of 54 months. Besides this, each vehicle will be produced in as little as 10 hours.
In future, all VW vehicles regardless of their sizes will use the SSP.
Which Domains Will SSP Affect?
Some of the domains that will see differences after the implementation of the SSP include but are not limited to:
- Efficiency;
- Range;
- Performance;
- Comfort,
- Digitalization;
- Driving Dynamics.
Audi A3 E-Tron
The Audi E-Tron is an expensive vehicle to buy as it will set you back €62,400 (£53,000). However, the running cost of the vehicle is much lower than an average ICE car of its size.
Basically, the A3 E-Tron is a hybrid variant of the regular A3. The vehicle can cover approximately 50 km alone on the battery power. However, when the car is being run on gasoline, the battery is charged alongside.
Major Rivals Of The Audi A3 E-Tron
Some of the major rivals of the car include:
- Toyota Prius;
- Kia Niro;
- VW Golf GTE.
The Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron is a highly loaded vehicle that comes with a wide array of features such as:
- 7-inch infotainment system;
- Automatic headlights;
- Automatic wipers;
- Parking sensors.
Final Verdict
The Audi A3 E-Tron will be a great car to have with the all-electric drivetrain. The vehicle will not just be fast and efficient but will also be much greener for the planet.
This coupled with the latest SSP will make the Audi A3 E-Tron a highly compelling vehicle.
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