Audi deepens SAIC tie in China
Audi expanded a China‑specific partnership with SAIC Motor to develop future AUDI‑brand models, planning four new vehicles and an innovation and technology centre in Shanghai. (just-auto.com) (auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com)
Audi and SAIC Motor have widened their China partnership to co-develop the next generation of AUDI-branded models, with four new vehicles now planned. (audi-mediacenter.com) The agreement, announced April 17 in Beijing and Shanghai, covers the full value chain for future models, including research and development, and adds a dedicated AUDI Innovation & Technology Center in Shanghai led by Audi AG in cooperation with SAIC. (audi-mediacenter.com) Audi said the new vehicles will be built on the next generation of the Advanced Digitized Platform, or ADP, the architecture the partners use for China-specific electric and connected cars under the all-caps AUDI brand. (audi-mediacenter.com) The move extends a strategy Audi launched in November 2024, when it unveiled AUDI as a China-only sister brand without the four-ring logo and said the project would combine Audi engineering with SAIC’s local software and development speed. (audi-mediacenter.com) (audi.com) Audi is leaning harder on local partners as China’s car market shifts toward electric vehicles and software-heavy models, and as the Volkswagen Group’s deliveries in China fell 8% in 2025 to about 2.69 million vehicles. (volkswagen-group.com) (english.news.cn) That pressure has shown up at Audi too. Reuters reported on April 14 that Audi was preparing a third model for 2027 under the China-only brand as it tries to regain market share in China. (uk.finance.yahoo.com) The first production car from the venture, the AUDI E5 Sportback, started pre-sales in August 2025 at Anting, near Shanghai, and Audi said first customer deliveries were due in September 2025. (audi-mediacenter.com) Reuters said this week that the E5 Sportback had already gone on sale, giving the Audi-SAIC project one model in market as it prepares the next wave. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) Audi’s older China play still runs through First Automobile Works, or FAW, a partnership that dates to 1988, while SAIC Volkswagen has been part of Audi’s China manufacturing network since 2021. The deeper SAIC tie-up shows Audi is now running parallel China strategies: one for its traditional Audi lineup and another for the China-specific AUDI brand. (audi.com) For now, Audi is betting that more local development, more Shanghai engineering, and four more China-focused models can help it catch up in the market where foreign premium brands face their toughest electric-vehicle competition. (audi-mediacenter.com) (volkswagen-group.com)
