Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Audi Metroproject quattro concept

Volkswagen had been expected to make a decision this week on where it would build its new US plant,and an announcement should come soon. And what of Audi? Rupert Stadler, the division's CEO, told a German newspaper this week that it would not make a final decision on building a dedicated US factory until next spring. Audi could end up just building cars at the Volkswagen factory, since some of its cars share their underlying architecture with VW models.

One new Audi that won't be coming to the US is the upcoming A1, a premium small car meant to compete with the MINI. Unfortunately, building such a car in Europe and exporting to the US is apparently not an option. Thanks to the weak dollar, the car would likely be too expensive. Even the current entry level Audi, the Golf-based A3, is proving a tough sell with its $26,000 starting price. Instead, Audi will focus on larger cars like the A4 and Q5, which can be sold at prices that allow them to be profitable. Stadler did say that the company plans to join VW in offering an electric car early in the next decade, but he gave no further details.


Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Golf TDI Hybrid Concept

Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn has announced that the company will be partnering with Sanyo to further develop lithium ion batteries for automotive applications. Earlier this month, the group's Audi division announced that it would use Sanyo's nickel metal hydride batteries in upcoming Q7 hybrid. This agreement goes beyond that with the focus being on lithium for both hybrid and all electric vehicles. In the past nine months, VW has shown two concepts using lithium ion batteries, the A1 project Quattro and the Golf TDI Hybrid. Volkswagen's target is to get a lithium ion battery hybrid to market by 2010. That time line is also likely to be when the first VW/Audi hybrids start coming to the U.S. market. When I spoke to Audi engineers in Europe last month, they indicated that they didn't plan launch a U.S. market hybrid until they could do a lithium ion battery. Eventually the VW Group plans to introduce full battery electric vehicles, probably powered by Sanyo lithium batteries.

Back on the 19th of October, we showed you some leaked pictures of the Audi A1 metroproject concept that would be shown in Tokyo. Well, here it is in all it's un-rendered glory. The all-wheel-drive configuration was confirmed with Audi's excellent TSI turbocharged and supercharged engine powering the front wheels along with an electric motor at the rear. A lithium ion battery pack powers the 41 horsepower motor out back. Many commuters could perform their daily drive without ever needing to run the engine, but if they do, they'd be rewarded with 48 miles per gallon.

As always, looks are subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder... but I'm sure we can all agree that this is one distinctive car. The overall size of the machine might allow it to be cross-shopped with other upmarket small cars like the Mini and the new Fiat 500 while the size of the front grill might seem more akin to a Dodge Ram.

All live photos ©2007 Siddharth Raja / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Autoblog]

Back on the 25th of July, our sister site Autoblog ran a post which showed what appears to be official pictures of the upcoming Audi A1. Those pictures showed a small Mini Cooper-sized vehicle which may or may not be sold in America. German Car Blog then ran news a few days later saying that the real thing would be shown in Tokyo at the next motor show. None of this was particularly green news ... until now. New reports are coming in that the vehicle shown above, the Audi A1 Speedster, will be shown in hybrid form at that same Tokyo Motor Show. No details currently exist on the drivetrain, but as Autoblog reported, we are expecting to see a new 7 speed DSG gearbox, which is good.

Note that all of this is speculation at this time. The pictures above are rendered, not real. Also, the pictures ran on Autoblog were supposedly "smuggled" out of the Audi offices. When there's smoke, there's fire, though... as they say. So, expect to see something like this soon in official form from Audi.

[Source: German Car Blog and Autoblog]