For the next generation A2, Audi will enlist the help Volkswagen Group’s Spanish unit, Seat, to help co develop a platform that will be shared by the new Ibiza. The move would also help Seat by allowing the Spanish carmaker to utilize unused capacity at its Martorell plant near Barcelona. Since the car is positioned below the A3, Audi’s Ulrich Hackenberg is confident that “it is possible to work with Seat,” and not compromise on the Audi brand.
Seat is already well underway in its development of the next generation Ibiza small car, and no decision about part sharing with Audi has been finalized. A key supplier in Germany has mentioned that the two companies will be collaborating on a new model, with the new Ibiza arriving in 2008 followed by the A2 in 2009. The new A2 will also share much in common with the VW Polo and will feature full steel construction instead of the expensive aluminium.