Approximately 410 Audi dealers in Europe – including around 105 in Germany – are selling the model at a basic price of €37,900 on the German market.

The Audi A3 Sportback e-tron brings together a 1.4 TFSI gasoline engine and an electric motor, giving a total system output of 204PS.

The carmaker quotes a fuel consumption figure of 1.5l/100km in accordance with the NEDC standard for plug-in hybrid with CO2 emissions of 35g/km.

Using electric power alone it has a range of 50km and over 900km in combined mode.

As well as ensuring employees at applicable dealerships are receiving special training in sales and service relating to electric vehicles, in future, every e-tron dealer will also have at least one charging station that e-tron customers can use, even after their purchase.

In Germany, the brand is also offering an individual installation service whereby a technician checks the electrics in the customer’s home, makes any adjustments that may be required and installs the charging dock, which is designed for safe, convenient charging.

And drivers in Germany can also switch to environmentally friendly electricity, known as Audi energy, said to mean that the A3 Sportback e-tron is totally emission-free when operated electrically. All electricity all comes from hydroelectric power stations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Audi has also put together an “e-tron plus” package. In Germany it includes the charging dock, a cable for public charging points, MMI navigation plus, Audi connect and phone box.