Audi will retire the A1 and Q2 next year and launch a new entry-level electric car as an indirect replacement for its two cheapest models.

Described as a model that sits underneath the Audi Q4 E-tron, the German firm's cheapest electric car is set to effectively serve as an EV alternative to the Audi A3 hatchback and Audi Q3 crossover - and is the smallest electric car in Audi's product plan.

Audi CEO Gernot Döllner told Autocar that the firm "will end production of the A1 and Q2" in 2026, as had previously been announced, "and there definitely will be no successor for the A1."

However, "we will have models in the lower A-segment, he added, referring to the designation Audi uses for cars of the A3's size and positioning, "and we will also see the car that will enter production next year in Ingolstadt, which will be our entry BEV in the A-segment".

Döllner said it was too early to give any details of the new car's technical make-up, but given the VW Group's new SSP platform for electric cars is not due to make production until 2028, it is likely to share the MEB architecture with the Q4 and all EVs from Volkswagen, Skoda and Cupra.

"A really positive part of our strategy is that in the A-segment, we rely on Volkswagen Group synergies. We use platforms shared with other brands and [integrate] Audi differentiation in terms of Quattro and power and technology.

"That strategy is very healthy and we will move on with that; that will also be our strategy in the battery-electric age."

Based on the details that have emerged, a starting price in the mid-high-£30,000s is expected for the new Audi, and it is likely to straddle the boundary between hatchback and crossover, not unlike the new Skoda Elroq to which it is set to be closely matched in size and shape. Döllner has previously referred to the new car as a "wondeful, unique, independent concept".

With the new model not serving as a direct replacement for the outgoing cars, it is possible it could wear a new badge - and a resurrection of the long-dormant A2 moniker is one possibility. Döllner would not be drawn on naming plans for future additions to the line-up, but said it was "thinkable" the brand could redeploy historic names. 

Like the Q4 E-tron, Audi's new small EV will be a more overtly premium proposition than its platform-mates from the VW Group's 'Core' portfolio, with interior technology, materials and design cues that link it to the larger, more expensive Audi models.

Döllner said: "I believe that Audi is the right brand to show premium from the A- to the D-segment. There are not many brands in the world, but I think Audi can have a true premium offer in the A-segment; we will come up with highly emotional and attractive models also in the lower segments."