Audi A1 May Come To U.S.

Audi will consider bringing the production version of the A1 Sportback to the U.S. to compete with Mini, according to Handlesblatt, a German business publication. We hadn’t even heard the A1 was confirmed for European sale, but it looks like it will hit streets across the pond in mid-2010 with a possible American debut sometime after that.

Why would they do such a thing when their last smallish car — the A3 — hasn’t exactly set the sales world on fire? The A1 will be smaller than the A3 and theoretically priced closer to the sub-$20,000 Mini Cooper than the A3’s $27,000 starting price. Secondly, Audi desperately wants to overtake BMW and Mercedes-Benz in worldwide sales by 2015. BMW’s August sales in the U.S. were three times that of Audi’s. Including Mini sales, BMW sold 24,343 units versus Audi’s 8,047 for the month.

Audi May Sell Next Version of A1 Car in U.S., Handelsblatt Says  (Bloomberg)