After unveiling 4G LTE in Europe last year, Audi is expanding the availability of the service in the U.S.
The German carmaker announced the availability of 4G on the A3 and S3 sedans back in January, and will now offer it on the Q3 crossover, and customers will be able to add any of these vehicles to an AT&T Mobile Share Plan.
This will allow owners to buy a chunk of data and distribute it among multiple devices, from cars to tablets. Carmakers have been trying hard to get customers to think of their vehicles as extensions of their mobile devices, and this might finally make that happen.
Individual data plans for cars currently start at $99 for six months and 5-gigabyte allotment of data, or $499 for 30 months and 30 GB of data.
Related: 2015 Audi S3 first drive
Adding a car to a Mobile Share Plan costs $10 per month, and customers can get 1 GB of data per month for $20.
General Motors is the only other carmaker currently offering 4G connectivity in the U.S. It also uses AT&T, charging the same $10 fee for adding a vehicle to a Mobile Share Plan.
However, GM’s standalone plans charge customers for data on a monthly basis, instead of the long-term plans offered by Audi.
Data is already available on 2015 Audi A3 and S3 models in showrooms now, while the Mobile Share Plan option will be offered from October 1 on. It will also be available, along with the long-term plans, on the Q3 crossover, which is just arriving in showrooms now.
