[Auto]Audi and Faw create a new company to produce electric vehicles in China

[SougarLord]

 

The agreement was initialed during the Germany-China Automotive Conference in Changchun, northern China.

 

In the future, Audi will also produce electric vehicles based on the Premium Electric Platform (PPE), developed together with Porsche, in China to further advance the transformation of what remains its largest market. From 2024, various fully electric propulsion models will be manufactured for the Chinese market on this new platform.

 

"This decision underscores the strategic importance of the Chinese market, which we are actively driving forward through innovation," said Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG and responsible for the brand's activities for the Chinese market.

By signing the memorandum of understanding, Audi reaffirms its cooperation with its partner FAW. At the same time, the brand with the four rings consistently follows the strategy towards sustainable mobility in China, specifically orienting its local range of products to the needs and wishes of premium segment customers in this market. Plans for the new company are still under development. Production is scheduled to start in 2024.

 

Werner Eichhorn, President of Audi China, says: “This is yet another milestone in our electrification strategy for the Chinese market. In addition, we confirm our commitment, both with our traditional Chinese partner FAW, and with our activities in China, which we are now raising to a new level ”.

 

Audi's electric initiative in China has already started: Audi and FAW jointly produce the all-electric e-tron Q2L and the A6L TFSIe plug-in hybrid. Furthermore, the Audi e-tron, which was previously imported for this market, has been produced locally in Changchun since the end of September. Over the next few years, Audi will offer more fully electric models of the e-tron family in this Asian market, also locating the production of some of them in its factories in China. By 2025, the plans of the brand with the four rings contemplate that approximately a third of its sales in the Asian giant will be electrified cars.

 

From January to September 2020, Audi delivered 512,081 vehicles to customers in China, a 4.5 percent increase over the same period last year. Despite the interruptions in production due to the coronavirus, the brand has achieved the best result in its 30-year history in this country.

 

Audi already produces in four locations in China through the FAW-VW joint venture: Changchun, Foshan, Tianjin and Qingdao, with a total capacity of approximately 700,000 vehicles.