• The next Audi A3 will focus more on interior quality and premium materials.
• Audi wants more physical controls instead of relying too heavily on screens, as it does today.
• Combustion engines will stick around, but diesel might be on its way out.

With the A1 and Q2 discontinued earlier this year, the A3 becomes the de facto entry-level Audi among combustion-engine cars. And with the German luxury brand giving up on going fully electric by 2032, there’s still time for another generation with combustion engines. Work is well underway on a new compact car, and it’ll be more than just a reskinned version of the existing model.

Pictured here, the 2025 Concept C is not just a preview of next year’s electric sports car but also a blueprint for what lies ahead for the entire Audi lineup. Ingolstadt will overhaul its whole portfolio with a fresh design language we’ve already seen on a production model, the Nuvolari. While the supercar sits at the top of the food chain and is limited to just 499 units, the next A3 will remain a high-volume car, mechanically twinned with the Volkswagen Golf and Skoda Octavia.

British magazine Auto Express caught up with Audi’s Chief Technical Officer, who was willing to share some secrets about the fifth-generation A3. Rouven Mohr stressed how exotic models like the production-ready Concept C and Nuvolari accurately foreshadow improvements across the whole range, including the company’s cheapest car.

2025 Audi Concept C steering wheel

Photos by: Audi

2025 Audi Concept C physical controls

Photos by: Audi

'You will be surprised by the so-called ‘standard cars’, how many elements you will find in these. The reduced interior, the mechanical haptic feedback, the round steering wheel, the material quality.'

The next A3 is part of Audi’s broader effort to rebuild its reputation for interior quality. The company has openly acknowledged in an interview with our colleagues at Motor1 Germany that its cabins haven’t recently lived up to the standards associated with the four-ring badge. Now, Audi wants to put material quality, tactile feedback, and intuitive controls back at the heart of its interiors.

That sounds small until you remember what made Audi interiors so appealing in the first place. The brand once had a knack for making even its less expensive cars feel like smaller versions of its high-end vehicles. The CTO pledges a return to form in perceived quality and intuitive controls, ideally by reducing the overreliance on screens (and their huge bezels) that is plaguing the recently facelifted A3.

2025 Audi Concept C window switches

Photos by: Audi

2025 Audi Concept C door handle

Photos by: Audi

Ideal Ratio Between Physical Controls And Screens

We’re hopeful for a better balance between screens and physical controls. The next A3 is expected to retain substantial digital displays because that’s how the cookie crumbles with modern cars. We’re delighted to hear that Audi is reconsidering how much of the cabin should be dominated by screens. If the Concept C is any indication, the company may have found the ideal ratio between traditional switchgear and screens.

The first Audi to embrace the new approach will be the A4 E-Tron electric sedan coming in 2028, with the next A3 likely to follow by the decade’s end. It’ll stick to the tried-and-tested MQB platform with combustion engines, though we can’t imagine diesel surviving past the current generation. With emissions regulations getting stricter and gas-hybrid powertrains becoming more efficient, there’s little reason for diesel to continue in small cars.

Audi A3 Sportback e-hybrid (2026)

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Source: Audi

Motor1's Take: Audi doesn’t need to reinvent the A3. It needs to remember why people wanted an A3 in the first place. The original car wasn’t revolutionary because it had an enormous screen or an app store buried somewhere in the infotainment system. It felt special because Audi managed to bring a convincing slice of its larger, more expensive cars into a compact package.

That philosophy seems to have been diluted over the years. If Audi really does bring back better materials, satisfying switchgear, proper tactile feedback, and a more thoughtful mix of physical and digital controls, the next A3 could be a far more compelling posh hatchback/sedan. And honestly, that’s the kind of quality upgrade I’d take over another screen any day.

The irony is that Audi may have to look backward to move forward.

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