Audi has opened its first ever ‘pop-up’ store today at London’s Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford.

The store will showcase the A3 Sportback e-tron to shoppers in readiness for the national roll out of the recently crowned 2015 What Car? Electric Car of the Year at Audi Centres across the UK from January 17.

Using 2D and 3D technology, customers can experience aspects of the very first Audi production plug-in hybrid electric car and can go on a virtual test drive using Oculus Rift headsets. Customers can learn about the four different drive modes available (including an electric-only mode and a hybrid charging mode) as well as configuring their own bespoke model using the Audi Explorer App and Audi Mileage Tracker App.

The A3 Sportback e-tron is the first electric car of any kind to be derived from a UK best-selling premium hatchback. It couples a 75kW electric motor with a 148bhp 1.4-litre TFSI petrol engine, delivering the potential for up to 176mpg with CO2 emissions of just 37g/km.

National communications manager for Audi UK, Sarah Cox, said: "The Audi store has popped up at Westfield Stratford at the perfect time with What Car? magazine awarding the A3 Sportback e-tron its 2015 Electric Car of the Year award only last week.

"Westfield customers will be able to explore the benefits of the first plug-in hybrid car produced by Audi with the help of leading-edge virtual technologies. It's an innovative way to interact with an innovative car and one which spearheads another new foray for the Audi philosophy of Vorsprung durch Technik."

Drivers who have already made the transition to an electric car and who park it at Westfield Stratford while they visit the pop-up store will be able to take advantage of six free charging bays courtesy of Audi from January 12 to February 8.

The Audi pop-up shop will open seven days a week for four weeks until February 8 – 10am to 9pm from Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm on Saturday and mid-day to 6pm on Sunday. For a taster of what the shop has to offer, visit audi.co.uk/etronwestfield.

Audi UK partnered with SOMO, its digital agency, to deliver the five new technology installations.