Audi is set to team up with SAIC, China’s biggest automaker, on the development of electric vehicles.
The move was confirmed by SAIC on Thursday in a statement to Bloomberg.
“All stakeholders agree that the Chinese auto market is in the midst of the biggest transformation in its history, therefore we will jointly work on a strategic approach that guarantees our future success,” SAIC said.
No further details on the partnership were disclosed, but Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported last week that Audi was looking to use an SAIC platform to accelerate the development of its own EVs for the Chinese market, specifically the platform of an SAIC premium EV brand known as IM.
China is Audi’s biggest market, but the automaker is losing market share and its current EV lineup has failed to find traction. Audi offers two EVs in China, the Q4 E-Tron and Q5 E-Tron, both based on parent Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform.
Audi delivered just over 3,000 EVs in China in the first quarter, versus the more than 21,000 EVs that BMW delivered and more than 137,000 that Tesla delivered at the same time.
Audi has new EVs on the way, including the Q6 E-Tron, but the vehicles face delays due to software issues.
Audi in June named Gernot Döllner as its new CEO after Volkswagen Group president Oliver Blume was critical of Audi’s performance, including the delays and sales in China.
SAIC already has joint ventures in China with VW Group, as well as General Motors. The VW Group joint venture dates back to 1985 and handles some production for Audi.
