Audi forms new company with FAW to produce PPE-based EVs in China – start of production by 2024

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last year, Audi has now announced the formation of the new company with China’s First Automobile Works (FAW), which will see the production of electric vehicles based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture.

The announcement further strengthens the existing, 30-year-plus partnership between both companies and will see Audi AG and Volkswagen Group China receive a majority 60% share in the new company.

“With the new Audi-FAW company in Changchun, we are further expanding our presence in the Chinese market and strengthening our position as a manufacturer of fully electric premium vehicles through local production,” said Markus Duesmann, chairman of the board of management of Audi AG.

“This deepened partnership between Audi and FAW heralds a new era of electrification as the next ‘golden decade’ for Audi on the highly important Chinese market,” added Werner Eichhorn, president of Audi China.

FAW Audi Sales will continue to be responsible for selling future cars produced by the PPE company as well as imported Audi vehicles and those produced locally by FAW-Volkswagen. On that mention, production of the first PPE-based model by the new joint venture is scheduled to start by 2024.

The PPE architecture is co-developed with Porsche and is just one of four platforms used to underpin a range of Audi models. Others include the MLB evo used for the e-tron, the J1 for the upcoming e-tron GT, and the MEB for smaller models like the Q4 e-tron.

For the Chinese market, Audi’s partnership with FAW will see the number of locally produced models increase to 12 by the end of 2021. The German automaker also has dealings with its second partner, SAIC Volkswagen, which will see more models introduced by 2022. Almost seven million Audi vehicles have been sold in China to date, and in 2020 alone, the brand delivered 727,358 units in the country, it’s best-ever result in the market.

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from Paul Tan's Automotive News
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