Audi, seeking to quickly expand its presence in China's full-electric vehicle market, plans to launch output of a new generation of EVs in 2024 under a three-way partnership to be formed with Volkswagen Group and China's FAW Group.
Under the deal the three sides signed Monday, the company will be 60 percent owned by Audi and VW Group, with the remaining 40 percent stake to be held by FAW, Audi said this week.
The company, to be established in the northeast China city of Changchun in the first quarter of this year, will produce models developed on Audi’s new platform for premium EVs, called Premium Platform Electric (PPE), which has been developed with Porsche.
Audi assembles and markets gasoline and plug-in hybrids at FAW-VW, a 10-30-60 joint venture between itself, VW Group China and FAW. In addition to Audi, FAW-VW assembles vehicles for VW brand.
Like the gasoline and plug-in hybrid products, the PPE-based EV models will be distributed via FAW-VW’s existing Audi dealership network, Audi said.
Audi also is set to produce vehicles at SAIC-VW, a 50-50 partnership between VW Group and SAIC Motor, which now builds and markets vehicles for VW and Skoda brands.
Models to be assembled at SAIC-VW will arrive in 2022, Audi said, without disclosing further details about the products.
Audi’s China sales rose 5.4 percent to a record 727,358 in 2020.
