SHANGHAI — Audi’s new electrical automobiles collection developed in China for the Chinese language market is not going to sport its four-ring brand, two folks with direct data of the plans mentioned.
The choice by the premium marque owned by Germany’s Volkswagen is because of “model picture consideration,” one of many folks mentioned. It additionally displays the usage of automotive structure co-developed with Chinese language associate SAIC and an elevated reliance on native suppliers and applied sciences.
Reuters was not capable of be taught if the brand new collection, codenamed “Purple” internally, would have a distinct brand or would simply automobilery the title Audi on the autos.
An idea automobile for the collection is because of be unveiled in November when Audi may even clarify the collection’ “model story”, the 2 folks mentioned.
A 3rd one who was briefed on the matter mentioned 9 fashions are deliberate by 2030.
The sources declined to be recognized because the automaker has not made the plans public.
Audi declined to touch upon what it referred to as hypothesis. SAIC mentioned in an announcement to Reuters that the EVs can be “true Audi with genuine Audi DNA”.
Chinese language automakers are more and more taking share of their dwelling market — the world’s largest — with tech-savvy EVs. That is led to sinking gross sales for overseas automakers, a lot of that are far more reliant on gasoline-engine fashions, pushing them into forming new partnerships.
Audi and SAIC, a long-time VW associate, mentioned in Might they’d collectively develop a platform for EVs for the Chinese language market.
Creating automobiles particularly for China permits overseas automakers to come back to grips with the newest options in EVs and Chinese language tastes whereas nonetheless focusing on an enormous buyer pool.
Automakers like Audi and VW would doubtless do additional analysis earlier than adapting these fashions for different markets, says Yale Zhang, managing director at Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight.
Audi bought lower than 10,000 EVs in China within the first six months of 2024. Against this, Chinese language premium EV manufacturers Nio and Zeekr every bought eight instances extra.
Audi’s new EV collection will use a CATL battery and a complicated driving help system (ADAS) from Chinese language tech startup Momenta, the 2 folks with direct data of the plans mentioned.
{The electrical} structure of SAIC’s EV model IM Motors can be used within the “Purple” collection, they added.
VW has additionally sought to faucet Chinese language EV experience. It reached a cope with Xpeng this yr that may see all regionally produced VW-branded EVs use structure co-developed with the Chinese language agency.
Audi’s EVs at the moment bought in China will proceed to have the four-interlocking ring brand. These are the This fall e-tron made with three way partnership associate FAW, the Q5 e-tron SUV made with SAIC and the Q6 e-tron made with FAW which can be launched later this yr.
The Q6 E-Tron is Audi’s first automobile utilizing VW’s superior premium platform electrical (PPE) platform and can use an ADAS provided by Huawei, sources have mentioned.
