Audi will discontinue the A1 entry mannequin as concern rises that more durable emissions requirements will make small autos economically unviable to supply.

“We cannot have a successor to the A1,” Audi CEO Markus Duesmann told Automotive News Europe. “We all know that providing combustion engines within the smaller segments sooner or later shall be fairly tough as a result of the prices will go up. Due to this fact, we are going to depart the phase.”

Duesmann’s acknowledgement comes as automakers start to question their small-car strategies in response to extra stringent European Union rules on tailpipe emissions, particularly the output of CO2.

This yr the trade should cut back its fleet CO2 common to 95 grams per kilometer, down from 106.7 g/km final yr, based on JATO Dynamics.

The issue is that automakers battle to get CO2 ranges of their minicars and small automobiles to beneath the 95 g/km common with out together with some type of electrification, which provides value in segments when margins are skinny.

Consequently, Opel dropped its Karl and Adam minicars. As well as, Stellantis sister manufacturers Peugeot and Citroen plan to cease making the 108 and C1 minicars, respectively, according to a report.

Daimler, in the meantime, has begun the process of shifting production and improvement of its Good model to China, the place the small automobiles shall be constructed solely beginning in 2022 as a part of a three way partnership with Zhejiang Geely Holding.

In an interview with Automotive News Europe in June, Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius denied experiences that the automaker would exit the compact phase fully, noting there are lots of positions within the firm’s compact portfolio that generate wholesome earnings.

“We’ll proceed to compete within the higher finish of the compact segments that we’re in. We aren’t exiting these segments,” he stated. “What we is not going to do is go down and begin competing with the amount automakers.”