AUDI: How the German Luxury Brand is Making a Comeback in China's Electric Vehicle Market?

AUDI: How the German Luxury Brand is Making a Comeback in China's Electric Vehicle Market?In recent months, the proportion of new energy vehicles in China's passenger car sales has exceeded 50% for three consecutive months, marking a historic breakthrough over traditional fuel-powered vehicles. The "greatest change in a century" is happening in the Chinese automotive market

AUDI: How the German Luxury Brand is Making a Comeback in China's Electric Vehicle Market?

In recent months, the proportion of new energy vehicles in China's passenger car sales has exceeded 50% for three consecutive months, marking a historic breakthrough over traditional fuel-powered vehicles. The "greatest change in a century" is happening in the Chinese automotive market. However, foreign luxury brands have not continued to lead the way as they did in the past. In the market segment above 300,000 yuan, whether it's pure electric or plug-in hybrid, Chinese automotive brands have occupied the top spots. Especially for the German luxury brands that used to dominate, they face challenges in transitioning to the new energy segment. Why is this happening? How should German luxury brands make a comeback in the Chinese market?

The Chinese Market is Different

Frankly, compared to their fuel-powered vehicle product lines, German luxury brands haven't lost their advantages in electric vehicles. Their existing labels of "driving control" and "reliability" have continued. In terms of chassis tuning, BBA's electric vehicles, compared to many Chinese automotive brands, offer a more solid driving experience. Notably, in terms of range estimation and calculation, anyone who has driven these electric vehicles will appreciate the accuracy of the remaining range estimates, which is crucial for long-distance commutes and journey planning.

However, the reason why electric vehicles are able to convince users to abandon fuel-powered cars is not just based on the vehicle's driving performance alone. High-level intelligent driving, intelligent cockpits, and ecological applications extending from car life are the decisive factors that truly helped new energy vehicles initiate a wave of replacement. However, this poses a significant challenge for German luxury brands, "home" to Europe.

In the interconnected era, developing ecological applications that can connect various aspects of user's life necessitates a thorough understanding of the target market's usage scenarios. This places higher demands on localization in the development and definition of interconnected products. Considering the rapid development of China's mobile internet over the past decade, we have built an ecological environment that is a "generation gap" away from Europe. Even for German luxury brands with a hundred-year history, only by establishing their research and development, and product definition in China, can they create vehicle products that meet the needs of Chinese users and establish a foothold in the new energy vehicle era.

This poses difficulties for multinational automotive groups, including BBA. Considering efficiency, product consistency, and standardization, automotive giants often choose to centralize their core product research and development and definition businesses at their headquarters, replicating a single product across various global market segments. For overseas markets like China, which account for a significant portion of sales, they may only make minor adjustments to the product. For German luxury cars, this involves "stretching," as we are familiar with.

As mentioned earlier, with the change in vehicle energy sources and the increasing proportion of intelligent features, the Chinese automotive market is setting higher demands for vehicle and even enterprise localization. Maintaining existing advantages while delivering well-received and successful models to the Chinese market requires more than just research and development and product efforts; it also tests the courage of German luxury brands to innovate at the top level.

In response, Audi, the earliest German luxury brand to enter China, has brought a new solution to the Chinese automotive market. They have joined forces with their latest joint venture partner, SAIC Group, to create a new automotive brand for the Chinese market - AUDI. On this new brand, the logo is no longer the traditional four rings; instead, it is replaced by four shining letters. Combined with a more youthful purple brand color, Audi, with its century-old legacy, once again presents a "custom-made" solution for the Chinese automotive market.

What's the First Move for AUDI Without the Four Rings?

In today's Chinese market, young users are exhibiting a new consumption habit: when purchasing new energy vehicles, especially luxury electric vehicles, they no longer go to traditional fuel-powered car dealerships to view vehicles, but directly visit the showrooms of new forces. The reason is that the image of German "luxury fuel vehicles" is deeply ingrained in people's minds, while new brands have established their own ecological positions in the electric vehicle sector.

Admittedly, Audi's fuel-powered car fans will still prioritize buying electric vehicles within the brand. However, Audi's current challenge lies in attracting the attention of young electric vehicle "natives" on top of the four rings.

Therefore, Audi chose to create the new brand AUDI. These four letters sound the same as Audi with the four rings, and are branded with "purple," a color that combines the red of Audi RS, which represents performance, and blue, which represents technology. Combined with simple yet layered horizontal lines, the AUDI brand, compared to the four rings, offers a stronger digital and technological feel to Gen Z.

It is important to note that the launch of the AUDI brand is not a replacement for the Audi four rings. In essence, it aims to provide more appropriate brand propositions and product forms for different types of users. The company stated that the AUDI brand will focus on providing "authenticity" in vehicle products for forward-thinking, more confident young users. Meanwhile, the familiar Audi four rings brand will continue to provide fuel and new energy vehicles for users as an iconic image.

Thus, the definition of AUDI's first model holds "setting the tone" significance for this German "new force." The unveiling of the concept car AUDIE on the evening of November 7th offers a glimpse into the future.

On this vehicle, Audi has distilled its classic elements from the past. At the same time, new elements of technology and innovation that belong to AUDI have been showcased for the first time.

First, let's look at the exterior. At the front, the new car utilizes a ring-shaped, fully illuminated "technological grille" design, echoing the ring-shaped taillights, extending the technological feel. Even on nighttime streets, AUDIE's high recognition will showcase the owner's distinctiveness to those around them. Additionally, the designer stated that the shape of the vehicle's rear was inspired by Audi's iconic TT, further enhancing the vehicle's youthful and personalized appeal.

• In terms of overall vehicle dimensions, the AUDIE concept car measures 48701990 and 1460 millimeters in length, width, and height, respectively, with a wheelbase of 2950 millimeters, giving it a broad, powerful, and low-slung feel. In the side lines and overall posture, AUDIE adopts a design inspired by Audi's classic Avant shooting brake, making it a crossover vehicle. In specific lines and surface shapes, AUDIE emphasizes the wheel arch shaping, making the entire car look "muscled." Especially in the rear wheel, the designer raises the location of the shoulder line, enhancing the sense of power. According to the designer, when defining AUDIE's stance and side lines, they aimed to incorporate Audi's proud quattro all-wheel drive system into the design. At the same time, one can also see elements of Audi's classic RS6 performance car in the side profile.

Finally, in terms of interior design, AUDIE's front row adopts a semi-enclosed design, with multiple screens and two electronic rearview mirrors forming the core experience of the intelligent cockpit. Additionally, the car is equipped with an AI-driven virtual assistant, which users can control through touch on its dedicated screen or voice commands. Moreover, AUDIE utilizes Audi's signature oak wood material in the front and rear door panel areas, creating a 3D texture with light and shadow effects.

"Local" Combat is the Confidence Behind Audi's Electric Vehicle Comeback

Currently, excellent exterior and interior designs have provided the AUDI brand with an exceptionally distinct label and topic heat for its new debut. However, the foundation for this realization lies in in-depth cooperation between Audi and SAIC.

As mentioned earlier, Audi's comeback in the electric vehicle market cannot be achieved without the support of a strong local partner. Although AUDIE is still defined as a "concept car," Audi has stated that the concept car and the final production model have 90% similarity. The car is expected to be launched in the first half of 2025. As the production car is imminent, the brand has also released AUDIE's performance specifications.

Firstly, the new car will be equipped with a dual-motor electric quattro all-wheel drive system, delivering a 0 to 100 kilometers per hour acceleration time of just 3.6 seconds. Secondly, AUDIE's battery capacity will reach 100kWh, with an CLTC range exceeding 700 kilometers. At the same time, the car will adopt an 800V architecture, allowing it to replenish 370 kilometers of range with just ten minutes of charging. Additionally, AUDIE will be equipped with rear-wheel steering, CDC, and an air suspension system. In terms of intelligent driving, the new car is expected to feature functions such as urban navigation assistance and intelligent parking assistance.

Admittedly, the AUDIE concept car's design was the focus of attention at the brand launch event. However, in my opinion, the technical foundation of this model - the "Advanced Digitized Platform" jointly developed by Audi and SAIC - is equally worth studying. The platform, specifically designed for the Chinese market, uses a distributed electronic architecture to support next-level

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