(July 10, 2013) American and Chinese consumers are the main targets for the sedan version of the Audi A3 that already is being sold in Europe and is due to hit showrooms globally over the next several months. But Audi executives believe they also can win over a considerable number of European luxury-car buyers who more naturally favor hatchbacks like the current sportback version of A3 sold in Europe.

Audi expects 70 percent of A3 sedan buyers worldwide to be conquest customers as the A3 sedan begins phasing out the sportback version of the nameplate outside of Europe.

“We want to attract buyers who have not thought about buying a car with a trunk,” Heiko Papst von Ohain, an Audi product and marketing manager, told Automotive News Europe.

One of the biggest lures to the Audi A3 sedan for young buyers around the world is expected to be its 4G LTE advanced connectivity that creates an in-car Wi-Fi hotspot.

The feature will be available in November in the European market, which already has become the first geographic market for the A3 sedan. In Europe, there also is a new A3 sportback, and the A3 sedan will supplement but not replace the three- and five door A3 sportbacks sold there.

The connectivity advance in the A3 sedan globally and new A3 hatchback in Europe will allow fast access to services such as navigation via Google Earth images and Google Street View as well as online traffic information, social media and the ability to listen to music via streaming or to hear incoming e-mails, the publication noted.

“The A3 sedan,” Stefan Crist, project manager for AUDI AG, told Automotive News Europe, “provides the most modern technology in our whole lineup.”