Audi’s new E3 electric hatch to launch in 2026 – Car Magazine
► First details of Audi’s new E3
► New electric car will use MEB+ tech
► Primed for 2026 launch
These spy shots are our first look at Audi’s new ‘entry level’ electric car, which it has officially confirmed will launch in 2026. CAR’s intel sources within the brand have also confirmed that it will be named E3.
The new E3 will be Audi’s smallest electric car, sitting below the Q4 e-Tron. It will be a companion to the A3 hatchback that’s set to continue for a while as a combustion and hybrid model.
You’ll have spotted the nomenclature is different from Audi’s norm, as it steps away from the e-Tron marker used to badge electric models. Like Mercedes (with its new electric G-Class) and Volkswagen (with its upcoming ID. Polo and ID. Tiguan), Audi is making efforts to merge its electric model names with its combustion ones – or at least make them less obvious.
CAR’s Georg Kacher also scooped the use of the E3 name within Audi’s future line-up as far back as 2008, implying the fact that the brand has kept the name trademarked for use.
Official details are scarce, but the spy shots reveal the silhouette and some of the planned design details to be expected from the new car. There’s an element of the A2 to the roofline, but the keener-eyed among us will spot that it actually shares an almost identical silhouette to the VW ID.3 and Cupra Born.
Sadly, it’s a given that the new E3 will not take design inspiration from the visually dramatic and ultra-clean Concept C. CAR spoke to chief creative officer Massimo Frascella at the reveal of the concept, and he hinted for us not to get our hopes up in the short term: ‘As we go through the development stages [of cars that are already in the production pipeline], we will see what we can do next,’ he says. ‘But I would say the first car that truly represents the new philosophy is going to be the production version of this concept.’
Under the skin is VW Group’s new MEB+ architecture – effectively a refreshed version of its smaller EV platform that includes new batteries and more efficient motors over the original one. As well as the new Audi E3, Volkswagen is using the updated platform for its upcoming new ID. Tiguan model due the same year. Expect power outputs of up to 400bhp with rear and all-wheel drive versions (the latter badged as quattro), and e-range hovering around the 350-mile mark.
Other than that, though, we’ll have to hang on for more details when the car is officially revealed in 2026.
Jake has been an automotive journalist since 2015, joining CAR as Staff Writer in 2017. With a decade of car news and reviews writing under his belt, he became CAR’s Deputy News Editor in 2020 and then News Editor in 2025. Jake’s day-to-day role includes co-ordinating CAR’s news content across its print, digital and social media channels. When he’s not out interviewing an executive, driving a new car for review or on a photoshoot for a CAR feature, he’s usually found geeking out on the latest video game, buying yet another pair of wildly-coloured trainers or figuring out where he can put another car-shaped Lego set in his already-full house.
By Jake Groves
CAR’s news editor; gamer, trainer freak and serial Lego-ist
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