Audi: "A1 not going to the US"

Can you smell the irony here? After using an American A-list celebrity -raise your hand, Justin Timberlake - to promote their new premium hatchback, reports out of Ingolstadt are saying that the A1, for one reason or another, will not be brought to the U.S. market.

Audi already mentioned this a few months ago when global sales head Peter Schwarzenbauer say that the brand isn’t that well established in the US to be selling small vehicles like the A1, given also the fact the U.S. customers are more inclined into buying larger vehicles. Recently, Audi reiterated their stance when Schwarzenbauer, in an interview with Automotive News, said "If you look at the real numbers [MINI and Smart sales in the US], it’s not huge volumes. I’m not so sure yet we really see a trend to small cars in the United States."

Audi: "A1

With European sales of the Audi set to kick off later this year at a price of €15,800 ($19,382) for the 1.2-liter TFSI engine base model, Audi is skeptical that the A1 would generate significant sales - at least for Audi to make even a marginal profit - in the U.S. market.