New Audi RS3 effectively sold out until late 2023

Keen on buying a 2023 Audi RS3 Sportback or sedan but haven’t placed an order yet? Prepare to join the back of a long line.

Audi says it’s enjoying unprecedented demand for the latest generation of its iconic hyper hatch and that means it’s effectively sold out until late 2023.

While some dealer stock might still be available, Audi says the huge upswell in demand and ongoing global supply issues mean that if you were to place a bespoke order on an RS3 today you should expect to wait at least 12 months for your car to arrive.

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“Supply is still pretty tight really,” said Audi’s MD of marketing Nicholas Reid. “We have very strong demand for the car [RS3] and we have a very healthy order bank. So our focus at the moment is on clearing that order bank.

“It’s a new product and it’s a very nice product so it’s in very high demand,” he added. “I think we have around 800 orders which is obviously huge.”

Initial demand sees a fairly even split between the RS3’s two body styles with 55 percent of orders going to the sedan and 45 percent for the Sportback. Both share the same 294kW/500Nm five-cylinder engine but the sedan has a larger boot: 321L plays 281L.

“If you’re placing a new order now, a specific order, you’re looking at a 12 month wait,” added Audi’s product communications manager Shaun Cleary. “So it’s a while but we do expect some stock will still be available once shipments arrive – but the majority of cars are already sold to customers.”

Cleary added Audi is constantly working with head office to secure more supply and that wait times on other models throughout the range has improved since the beginning of the year.

“I think we’re getting back to now, for most models, five or six months is about standard depending on equipment and features,” he said.

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"A clear stance we’ve taken with customers is we haven’t deleted features for our line-up [due to the semi-conductor shortage]."

“Where things have been unavailable, dealers have been having conversations with customers and saying ‘If you’d really like this piece of equipment then it remains in your order but we can’t give you a delivery date until it becomes available.’

“Some customers have said that equipment isn’t important or I’m not prepared to wait and we’ve removed it and then the car is delivered. So that’s where the flexibility comes into it.”

Demand for the new RS3 is in roughly the same ballpark as what AMG experienced when it introduced the A45 to the Aussie market in in 2022, although AMG’s sales figures were for the A45 hatchback only and didn’t include the CLA 45.

The new generation Audi RS3 and AMG A45 are remarkably close in the performance stakes. The RS3 boasts a turbocharged five-cylinder engine with 294kW/500Nm and it can rocket from 0-100km/h in a class-leading 3.8seconds.

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