Audi’s latest-generation A3 has already been revealed in three-door hatchback form and is just starting sales in Europe, though this particular variant is unlikely to be offered in the U.S.

Instead, Americans will get a stylish new sedan version of the A3, a car that has already been previewed numerous times in concept form has been confirmed for a local launch later this year as a 2014 model.

And just because the three-door A3 is unlikely to be offered in the U.S., it doesn’t mean other variants aren’t being considered to eventually join the sedan in U.S. showrooms.

Some of these other variants include a five-door ‘Sportback’ model and a convertible. On top of this, various powertrains will be offered in the new A3 including at some point a turbodiesel engine, battery-powered electric drivetrain and plug-in hybrid setup.

Audi has bold ambitions for its latest A3, particular in its sedan form, which the company sees as the spiritual successor to the smaller A4 sedan sold during the late 1990s and which helped initiate the compact luxury segment in the U.S.

The latest A4 sedan is significantly larger than its predecessors, leaving a gap Audi expects its new A3 sedan to fill.

"We've left behind a segment we were initially able to fill so successfully," Audi’s U.S. marketing chief Scott Keogh explained during a recent interview with Automotive News (subscription required).

Keogh went on to explain that the new A3 will likely be Audi’s second most popular model after the A4. It will certainly have some ground to cover if the prediction is to come true, however. Last year Audi sold 6,561 A3s in the U.S., about a fifth of the number of A4s it sold over the same period.

Look out for the debut of the 2014 Audi A3 Sedan at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show this November.