AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/15 Report--

According to media reports, Xilai is considering buying Audi's plant in Belgium as part of its strategy to build local production in Europe and avoid European Commission tariffs on imports of Chinese electric cars. According to the report, the Weilai delegation recently visited the factory and is discussing a quotation with Volkswagen Group.

In view of the current background of the automobile industry, it is reasonable for Weilai to acquire Audi factory. At present, Xilai has launched ET7, EL7, ET5, ET5 Touring, EL6, EL8 and other products in the European market, of which EL8 (corresponding to domestic ES8) was officially delivered in Europe on September 18 and has been listed in Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. In addition, Weilai also plans to introduce the second brand "ONVO" and an all-electric small car codenamed "Firefly" to Europe.

Although Weilai laid out in the European market as early as two years ago, its results are not satisfactory. According to Dataforce, a market research company, Lailai sold 2404 cars in Europe in 2023. Due to its "subscription" service in Europe, there will be a discrepancy between the actual number of vehicles operated in Europe and the results of third-party statistics, but the overall sales level still needs to be improved.

Not long ago, the European Commission announced additional tariffs on electric cars imported from China, worsening sales in the European market. As a result, more and more Chinese manufacturers are considering setting up factories in Europe to reduce the negative impact of tariffs. Based on this background, it is reasonable for Weilai to acquire Audi factory. However, in response to the news, Li Bin, chairman of the company, said in an interview that he had no plans to take over the Audi factory and did not know where the information came from. We can't afford a factory that Audi can't afford.

The Brussels plant in Belgium is Audi's first factory specializing in the production of electric vehicles, mainly responsible for the production of Audi Q8 e-tron. In 2023, the plant produced 53555 pure electric vehicles, accounting for about 30 per cent of Audi's annual delivery of 178000 electric vehicles. Due to depressed product sales, Audi announced as early as July that it would not rule out the possibility of closing the Brussels factory. Audi said that it made employees feel more likely to be laid off. The factory has about 3000 employees a month, and according to CCTV, the factory has been shut down since the beginning of September. Audi plans to reorganize the Brussels factory, which triggered several demonstrations by workers. Audi is required to clarify the future prospects of the factory and its employees. At present, Audi has not yet decided whether to sell the factory, but according to Audi's latest statement, selling the factory is a high probability event.

It is understood that the Audi Q8 e-tron is renamed from Audi e-tron and launched as a medium-term model. It is currently the flagship SUV model in the Audi electrified family, including Q8 e-tron quattro, Q8 Sportback e-tron quattro, SQ8 e-tron quattro and SQ8 Sportback e-tron quattro. It has been on the market in Europe since February 2023, with a starting price of 74400 euros (about 586200 yuan) in Germany. From the competitive point of view, Audi Q8 e-tron 's main competitors are Mercedes-Benz EQC, BMW iX3 and so on.

On July 25th, Audi Group released its financial results for the first half of 2024, showing that its revenue for the first half of 2024 was 30.9 billion euros, down 9.5% from the same period last year; its operating profit was 1.982 billion euros, down 42.0% from the same period last year; and its operating profit margin was 6.4%, a decrease of 3.2% compared with the same period. In terms of vehicle delivery, Audi Group delivered a total of 843991 Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini cars in the first half of the year, including 5476 Bentley and 5558 Lamborghini.

Audi is under pressure not only in the Chinese market, but also in the global market, and there is a big gap between Audi and its competitors compared with the global delivery of Mercedes-Benz (1.16 million) and BMW (1.21 million). In the Chinese market, Audi delivered 320370 cars in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in the first half, down 2 per cent from a year earlier.

In addition to Audi, the good days for Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the Chinese market seem to be gone forever, with both companies cutting their performance forecasts by 2024. In the first half of the year, Mercedes-Benz's sales in China fell 9% from a year earlier, while BMW fell 4% from a year earlier.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat