Denso helps make new Audi A3 more fuel efficient
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New engines and advanced technology from suppliers such as Denso help the third-generation Audi A3 achieve greater efficiency than the model it replaces.
All engines across the new A3's range include fuel-saving stop-start technology. Denso's European arm supplies the start-stop starter and conventional starter for the A3. The stop-start system reduces fuel consumption in the new A3 by up to 0.4 liters per 100km, according to Audi.
Denso also supplies the new compact-premium car's air conditioner compressor, EGP3 sensor as well as variable camshaft timing and oil pressure control valve for the EA211 engines. The EA211 engines are a new generation of gasoline powerplants with a power range of 60 hp to 150 hp available on Audi parent Volkswagen Group's Modular Transverse Matrix architecture, which in German goes by the acronym MQB, short for Modularer Querbaukasten.
The new A3 will be available from launch with either a five-speed manual or seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission. Audi says the dual-clutch transmission can change gears in 0.2 of a second. The dual-clutch transmission can operate in full automatic mode or the driver can manually shift gears by using the gear lever or steering wheel-mounted shift paddles. Metaldyne supplies the differential gears for the dual-clutch transmission while the shift paddles come from Preh. In addition to the shift paddles, Preh provides the climate control system as well as the A3's multifunctional steering wheel switches, which enable the driver to operate a number of features including the car's entertainment and telephone systems.
Audi started production of the A3 in June at its factory in Ingolstadt, southern Germany. Output is expected to peak in 2014 at a little more than 215,000 units, according to IHS Automotive forecasts.
