Confirming (or at least duplicating) reports from back in January, a new report out of Germany says the Audi A3 Sedan is still on track for the U.S. The plan is to leverage America's love for sedans and the potential for affordability with the A3 into more substantial sales figures.

It's a pretty straightforward plan, really, and it makes good sense. While we're partial to the hatchback version, most of America's car shoppers could do without the almost-a-wagon look.

Best of all for Audi, the A3 sedan would offer a size/segment that's not already populated by BMW and Mercedes. The C-Class and 3-Series are larger, A4-class vehicles, and the BMW 1-Series is only available as a coupe or convertible in the U.S. The compact luxury sedan segment could be ripe for the picking--especially when paired with Audi's TDI clean diesel.

So what will this A3 notchback look like? Unfortunately we'll have to wait at least another year or so to find out (unless we manage to get one rendered), as it's not expected to reach production until sometime in 2012, built on the next generation A3 platform.

When it does come, it will be all but identical to the hatch, except for the rear profile, meaning dual-clutch gearboxes, small but potent four-cylinder turbos and TDI versions, front-wheel or quattro drive, and of course, some of the best interiors in the business.

[Financial Times via Autoblog]