Audi partners FAW to make e-tron vehicles in China

Audi and longtime joint-venture partner FAW have just signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint production of Audi’s electric cars in China. The MoU was signed during the Germany-China Automobile Conference that recently took place in Changchun (where FAW is headquartered), northern China.

The automakers will form a new company (the plans of which are still in development) to produce a number of PPE-based (Premium Platform Electric; jointly developed with Porsche) Audi EVs by 2024. Audi hopes that this strategic move will further advance its transformation in its largest market. The Ingolstadt-based automaker aims to have one-third of its sales in China to comprise of electrified cars by 2025.

Audi China president, Werner Eichhorn said: “This is a further milestone in our electrification strategy for the Chinese market. We are also confirming our commitment both to our longstanding Chinese partner FAW and to our activities in China, which we are now taking to a new level.”

Presently, Audi and FAW have four production facilities in China, with a total capacity of around 700,000 vehicles annually. They currently produce the Q2L e-tron and A6L TFSI e plug-in hybrid. Its e-tron SUV is also being built in Changchun since end-September. Prior to that, the e-tron was fully imported. More e-tron models are planned will be localised and introduced in China.

In the first nine months of 2020, Audi delivered 512,081 vehicles to customers in China alone. That represents a 4.5% increase over the same period in 2019, reversing the downward trajectory it has been recording in the past few years. In fact, it is the automaker’s best sales achievement in its 30-year history in China, an astonishing feat considering the sharp slump in vehicle sales earlier in the year.

The post Audi partners FAW to make e-tron vehicles in China appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.

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