The body-in-white is built using innovative technologies such as hot-shaped steel sheets: tailored blanks of boron alloy steel are heated to 950 degrees Celsius in a continuous furnace and immediately quenched and shaped in a water-cooled die.

Hot-shaped steels are very light, and profoundly impact the weight balance. The A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI weighs only 1,500 kilograms (3,307 lb).

Hot-shaped steels are used in the side sills, the longitudinal members, the center console, the B-pillars and the front cross members. The front fenders of the A5 Sportback are made of aluminum.