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Audi will find a partner in China, finally decided!

On July 20, according to Interface News, SAIC and Audi have agreed to speed up the development of electric vehicles through cooperation. At the same time, the two sides agreed that China's auto market is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, so it will further deepen strategic cooperation, open a new chapter of cooperation and provide guarantee for win-win results. A person familiar with the matter told the media that this cooperation Audi hopes to obtain three electricity system, get off the car body, smart driving system and other related technology, but the appearance, interior and other styling design should be independently controlled by Audi.

In fact, it is not surprising that the two sides have reached cooperation. Earlier, it was reported that in order to enhance the competitiveness of electric vehicles, Audi may buy electric vehicle platform licenses from Chinese car companies to shorten the development time of its models. In response, Audi China has responded: "over the past 35 years, Audi has been committed to contributing to the development of China's automobile industry." Adhering to the'in China, for China 'strategy, Sihuan Brand firmly implements its commitment in China and promotes mutually beneficial and win-win localization development. In addition, there are reports that Audi is in close talks with SAIC to purchase an electric vehicle platform under the Auto Zhiji brand. However, SAIC responded at that time: "at present, the company has no major matters that should be disclosed but not disclosed. If there is any important progress and involves disclosure requirements of listed companies, the company will fulfill its information disclosure obligations accordingly in accordance with the relevant regulations."

Of course, Audi's urgent need to find partners in China has something to do with Audi's slow electric process. As one of the luxury brands of Volkswagen Group, Audi does not have its own electric vehicle platform, and its electric vehicles are based on Volkswagen Group Electric platform. As for the slow process of Audi electrification, Volkswagen Group CEO Obom once pointed out that Audi electrification transformation is slow and pure electric products are not competitive. According to Volkswagen Group's previous plan, Audi will launch electric vehicle products based on PPE platform in 2024, and Volkswagen Group's SSP vehicle architecture will also be launched in 2026. Regarding this plan, Volkswagen insiders have said that due to constraints such as software development, it is still doubtful whether PPE and SSP can be landed on schedule; the European electric car industry chain and manpower do not have cost advantages; and the research and development speed of European car companies is generally slow. It takes at least 36 months in Europe to develop an electric car, while it only takes 24 months in China at the earliest. The Q6-e-tron, a blockbuster model of Audi's electrified transformation, has also been delayed many times because of software problems.

Apart from the slow pace of development, Audi has not sold well in the world and in China in recent years. Figures show that Audi sold 1.614 million vehicles worldwide in 2022, down 3.9% from a year earlier. Audi sold 643000 vehicles in China in 2022, down 8.4% from a year earlier, lagging behind competitors Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Audi's sales in China are still low in 2023, with figures showing that Audi's cumulative sales in China from January to March in 2023 were 136416 vehicles, down 16% from the same period last year.

According to Audi's Chinese official website: at present, Audi is selling Q4 e-tron, e-tron, Q2L e-tron, Q5 e-tron, A6L plug-in hybrid and other models. Relevant data show that from January to June, a total of 8982 Q4 e-tron, 2119 Q5 e-tron, 1421 A6L plug-in hybrid, 229 e-tron and 98 Q2 e-tron were sold.

According to Audi's plan, Audi will offer five domestically produced pure electric models in China by 2025 and about 30 new energy vehicles worldwide, 20 of which are pure electric vehicles. It is expected that the annual production of electric vehicles will reach 800000 in five years' time. Electric car sales will account for 40 per cent of all car sales. Audi's selection of cooperation with SAIC will undoubtedly contribute to the completion of Audi's planning. after all, SAIC has a mature electric layout. There are self-research or investment in related supply chain enterprises in motor, electric drive, solid-state battery, car body regulation, chip and intelligent driving. If Audi develops a new electrified platform on its own, it will take a certain amount of time to build it, in addition to the high cost. The introduction of external more competitive platforms can not only save transformation costs, but also speed up the launch of new products and shorten the time to seize the market.

As for SAIC, its two pure electric brands, Zhiji and Feifan, need to be further improved in terms of brand awareness and user acceptance. Take Zhiji Automobile as an example, relevant data show that from January to June, Zhiji Automobile sold a total of 7796 vehicles, less than a month's sales compared with the head of new energy vehicle companies. This cooperation with Audi, to a certain extent, will also help to improve the awareness of SAIC pure electricity brand.

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