German luxury brands have been riding China’s gravy train for decades, but those days are slowly coming to an end. The rise of domestic automakers, especially in the EV segment, has forced Mercedes, BMW, and Audi to rethink their strategies in the world’s largest car market. Of the three, Audi was the first to enter China back in 1988. Fast-forward to 2025, and a namesake sub-brand is on the verge of launching. Enter AUDI.
During the company’s conference about the 2024 sales results, CEO Gernot Döllner announced that the first production AUDI will break cover at Auto Shanghai. The event is scheduled to take place from April 25 until May 2, but the car’s debut will occur on April 23 during the first press day. The model’s name remains a secret, although we know it will be a production version of last year’s AUDI E concept.
Photo by: Audi
While the Audi models we’re familiar with have all types of powertrains, AUDI will be purely electric. The sister brand isn’t a Volkswagen Group-only effort since the cars will be engineered together with local automaker SAIC. Following the launch of the first model next month, two additional vehicles, an SUV and a Sportback, will arrive within the next two years. As seen on the E concept, the emblematic Four Rings will be missing from these cars, replaced with a large “AUDI” script written in capital letters.
If the concept is any indication, these China-only AUDI-badged vehicles will look substantially different from the globally available Audi models. We can best describe the inaugural vehicle as a mix between a swoopy Sportback and a more practical Avant. Inside, it’s even more of a screen fest than the latest cars developed in Ingolstadt, with physical buttons kept down to a minimum. However, things could change for the production version.
The E sits on a new Advanced Digitized Platform developed with SAIC and is slightly longer than the A5 Avant but still shorter than the new A6 Avant. Audi AUDI says that thanks to its tie-up with SAIC, it’s been able to cut development time by 30 percent. The first model will be roomier than the two gasoline wagons mentioned above because it utilizes a bespoke electric platform. The E concept had a massive wheelbase of 116.1 inches (2950 millimeters), slightly longer than the A6 Avant’s.
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Between the two axles, the engineers are fitting a large 100-kWh battery good for 435 miles (700 kilometers) of range, albeit in the optimistic CLTC. The concept featured an 800-volt architecture for ultra-fast charging, taking 10 minutes to replenish the battery enough for 230 miles (370 kilometers) of range. The battery fed two electric motors, delivering a combined 764 hp and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm), good for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) run in 3.6 seconds.
Who is the newly established sub-brand targeting? AUDI “aims to appeal explicitly to young, tech-savvy customers.” These three cars won’t be the only China-only products since the leading Audi brand also locally builds and sells a series of long-wheelbase sedans and SUVs. In 2024, deliveries fell by 10.9 percent to 653,016 units, but still more than triple the volume generated in the United States.
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