Berlin According to the company, the Volkswagen subsidiary Audi is negotiating with the Chinese joint venture partner SAIC about a joint development of electric cars. SAIC chief engineer Zu Sijie told reporters on Thursday that his company has reached an agreement with Audi to jointly accelerate the development of electric cars. He did not give details. Audi said it is working with partners on the future direction of business in China.
The Ingolstadt-based company is bringing its vehicles onto the market in China through joint ventures with SAIC and FAW. According to an insider, negotiations are ongoing with both partners. Declarations of intent can be expected in the coming weeks, and a contract could be signed this year.
Audi lags far behind the competition in the Chinese business. The outgoing Audi boss Markus Duesmann recently said that there are currently not the right vehicles on the market for Chinese needs. At the same time, he announced that some electric models would be located there earlier than originally planned.
Audi is currently building a plant in Changchun together with FAW, where vehicles are to be produced on the PPE platform from the end of 2024. Audi is also selling the electric Q4 in China.
An insider said the talks are now turning to other vehicle segments. The aim is to form complementary portfolios with both partners. These are independent cars that are built in China for China. According to other sources, Audi could take over SAIC’s electric platform. SAIC’s IM Motors electric brand, in which the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has a stake, launched the L7 luxury sedan a year ago.
Western manufacturers are under massive pressure in China because domestic e-car brands are cutting the water out for them. Audi has now fallen well behind its US competitor Tesla and the Chinese premium brand Nio. The brand with the four rings as a logo has so far relied on its own technology and builds electric cars based on the MEB electrical construction kit developed by Volkswagen and the PPE premium platform developed with Porsche.
More: Markus Duesmann has to go – Gernot Döllner will be his successor