Audi’s brought back the A2, and it’s gone electric
More than 20 years after the original disappeared from showrooms, Audi is bringing back the A2 as a compact electric hatchback. The new A2 e-tron is expected to offer more than 400 miles of range and cost less than £35,000.
Audi is bringing back the A2, more than two decades after its famously clever little hatchback disappeared from showrooms.
The new Audi A2 e-tron will be an electric car, and I think it’s set to become the brand’s most affordable EV when it arrives. Audi is targeting a starting price below £35,000, while the longest-range version could travel more than 400 miles between charges.
That gives the A2 a rather different role from the original, which was a technological showcase disguised as a small family hatchback. This time round, Audi is building it at a moment when every premium car maker is under pressure to make electric cars cheaper, smaller and more efficient, and the name carries some useful history to lean on.
Audi A2 price and specs
The original A2 arrived in 2000 with an aluminium spaceframe that helped keep its weight down, and some diesel versions could return around 75mpg, impressive even by today’s standards. There was a catch, though. Aluminium was expensive to manufacture at the time, and the A2’s low-volume production couldn’t spread those costs across enough cars. Production lasted just five years, ending in 2005.
The car has since acquired something close to cult status, and its unusual proportions, clever packaging and engineering have made it a modern classic despite its commercial shortcomings when new.
Audi is taking a much less exotic approach with the new A2 e-tron, which is expected to use Volkswagen Group’s MEB+ electric platform, shared with the forthcoming Volkswagen ID.3 Neo. That shared architecture matters, because the original A2’s sophisticated construction is what got it into financial trouble in the first place. Borrowing technology already being developed elsewhere in the group should make a small Audi much easier to justify economically this time.
Audi has tried to revive the name before. The A2 Concept appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2011, but the production car never followed.
Audi A2 e-tron design
The production A2 e-tron hasn’t been revealed yet, with prototypes still wearing camouflage, but Audi’s early images suggest the connection with the original will be obvious. The compact proportions and sloping roof remain, while the new car gets a lower, smoother profile designed with aerodynamic efficiency in mind. There are more familiar modern Audi touches too, including slim light bars, streamlined alloy wheels and rear lights influenced by the company’s Nuvolari concept. The interior remains under wraps for now.
That exterior design has a job to do beyond nostalgia. On an electric car, reducing aerodynamic drag can make a meaningful difference to range, particularly at motorway speeds, so a small, slippery hatchback could turn out to be a more interesting proposition than its dimensions suggest.
Audi A2 electric range and battery
The A2 e-tron is expected to use battery technology shared with the Volkswagen ID.3 Neo, with packs ranging from around 50kWh to 79kWh. Power is expected to come from a rear-mounted electric motor, with outputs of roughly 168bhp to 228bhp depending on specification.
The largest battery in the Volkswagen application is claimed to provide up to 390 miles of WLTP range, and Audi is targeting more than 400 miles for the most efficient A2, though that figure remains a projection until the car gets its final homologation. Efficiency might turn out to be the more important number here. A version using a 187bhp motor and Efficiency Pack is expected to achieve around 4.85 miles per kWh, and if that figure makes it through to production, the A2 would be among the most efficient mainstream electric cars on sale. That’s very much in keeping with the philosophy of the original A2. The technology has changed, but the objective is the same one the original A2 chased, making a small car travel a long way on as little energy as possible.
When does the Audi A2 e-tron go on sale?
Audi is expected to unveil the production A2 e-tron later this year, with UK deliveries anticipated in early 2027. Pricing hasn’t been confirmed, though Audi is expected to position the car below £35,000, considerably more accessible than most of the company’s existing electric range.
For context, the forthcoming Volkswagen ID.3 Neo is expected to start at around £31,850 after the £1,500 Government Electric Car Grant, while the petrol Audi A3 starts at just under £29,000. That leaves the A2 an awkward but potentially lucrative space to occupy, more expensive than a mainstream electric hatchback but substantially cheaper than Audi’s larger EVs. That’s precisely where the badge needs to earn its keep, because a £35,000 electric Audi can’t rely on four rings alone when buyers have an expanding list of cheaper EVs to choose from instead. What the A2 name gives Audi that those rivals don’t have is a genuine engineering story and a recognisable piece of its own history.
Audi A2 verdict
The original A2 was ahead of its time, but its engineering made it too expensive for the market Audi was trying to sell it into. I think the electric A2 gets a second chance under rather different circumstances. Battery technology, shared platforms and tighter efficiency targets all make a small premium EV far easier to build than the aluminium original ever was.
Audi still has to get the pricing right. If the A2 e-tron arrives below £35,000 with close to 400 miles of usable range, you’ll be looking at one of the more compelling cars in the company’s entire electric line-up. There’s a nice irony in that. Audi’s first A2 was too clever and too expensive, and its second attempt could succeed by making clever engineering pay at scale instead.