Audi and MG/LDV father or mother firm SAIC are doubling down on the confusingly named, China-only AUDI model.
Late final week the 2 corporations introduced they’d set up an Innovation and Know-how Centre in Shanghai devoted to the AUDI model.
In line with Audi and SAIC, the centre will give attention to “China-specific, clever electrification applied sciences and whole-vehicle improvement”, in addition to “AI-powered, immersive good cabins and superior driver help methods” for the Chinese language market.
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In addition they confirmed the next-generation Superior Digitised Platform (ADP) will function the premise for 4 new AUDI fashions that will probably be launched in China within the “coming years”, though precise timing has but to be confirmed.
The AUDI model was created in 2024 to faucet into the Chinese language market’s love of electrical automobiles (EVs) with tech-heavy spec sheets and screen-laden interiors. Growth occasions can be slashed through the use of current SAIC platforms and expertise.
The brand new China-specific model can be additional differentiated from its European sibling by a distinct styling language, forgoing Audi’s iconic four-interlocking rings and single-frame defend grille.
When AUDI’s first mannequin, the E5 Sportback, went on sale in September 2025, issues appeared promising with the model notching up 10,000 orders within the first half-hour after order books have been opened. Not all of these orders become gross sales, nevertheless, with Automobile Information China reporting simply 7070 have been bought to the top of January 2026.
To counter sluggish gross sales, the mannequin was given a short lived worth lower of ¥30,000 (A$6100). Patrons might additionally go for a five-year mortgage with zero per cent curiosity.
The pure electrical E5 is underpinned by the present model of the ADP, which was developed by SAIC. It has a 572kW dual-motor all-wheel drive setup able to finishing the 0-100km/h run in 3.6 seconds, and a 100kWh battery is commonplace.
This drivetrain, and certainly the Superior Digitised Platform, is out there in Australia within the range-topping MG IM5 liftback.
ADP may also function the premise of the E7X SUV that may make its full debut this week’s Beijing motor present. The E7X is predicted to be out there in each electrical and extended-range electrical car (EREV) type. The AUDI model will launch a 3rd mannequin in 2027.
As we’ve documented, due to the speedy acceptance of electrical drivetrains and the rise of native manufacturers, China has gone from being the Volkswagen Group’s golden goose to its downside youngster.
Volkswagen misplaced its title because the nation’s top-selling model in 2023 to BYD. Gross sales in China peaked in 2019 when the German automaker shifted 4.23 million automobiles. In 2025, the Volkswagen Group bought simply 2.69 million automobiles in China, an 8.0 per cent drop on 2024, and 36.4 per cent or 1.54 million items down from the corporate’s excessive level.
The primary sufferer of the automaker’s slide is Skoda, which introduced final month it might be withdrawing from the Chinese language market by the center of 2026. The Czech model’s gross sales slid from 341,000 in 2018 to only 15,000 final yr.
Along with creating AUDI along side SAIC, the Volkswagen model has additionally partnered up with Xpeng to assist it develop plenty of China-specific EV fashions.
