German premium carmaker Audi and its two Chinese partners, FAW and SAIC, present a lineup of purely electric vehicle models at the Shanghai auto show held from April 18 to 27.

Audi showcases its urbanshpere concept car based on the Premium Platform Electric, or PPE, at the Shanghai auto show.

German automaker Audi has joined hands with its Chinese partners FAW Group and SAIC Motor to present an all-electric booth at the ongoing 2023 Auto Shanghai, from Tuesday to April 27, showcasing its resolve in embracing electrification and its desire to lead premium e-mobility in China.

"There is no other place in the world where the transformation to electric mobility is so far advanced," said Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi AG. "Here in Shanghai, we want to show how Audi is reshaping premium electric mobility."

Apart from demonstrating Audi's current EVs like the Audi Q4 e-tron, the locally developed Audi Q5 e-tron Roadjet and the imported high-performance model Audi RS e-tron GT, the brand has brought to the booth the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept based on the Premium Platform Electric, or PPE, a platform co-developed by Audi and Porsche.

The company's electric model portfolio is highlighted by the Audi urbansphere concept, one of the four sphere concept cars that show Audi's vision for future premium e-mobility. The urbansphere concept car, co-created with Chinese customers, was unveiled by Audi in April last year.

"The urbansphere is actually more than a concept car. It symbolizes our ideas for China," said Duesmann. "The Audi urbansphere concept — like no other — captures our vision for the future of premium mobility in China."

Electric mobility transition

Audi, a leading player in automotive development in China for more than 30 years, has been in transition toward smart and electric mobility in response to changing consumer demands in recent years.

Audi has developed a dedicated corporate strategy for its biggest single market, which aims to improve its products innovation, build a well-connected ecosystem to provide products and services that go beyond the car, and further enhance the consumer experience.

The brand said the corporate strategy, specially designed for China, is based on its understanding of the special needs of its customers in China and the fast-developing market trends, especially the effects of digitization, e-commerce, and the evolving expectations of customers toward automotive brands.

"We are driving forward our business transformation in China. Therefore, addressing the specific demands of our Chinese customers is key to us. To this end, we are increasing local development and production capacities with our new research and development center in Beijing and our new factory for all-electric Audi models in Changchun," said Duesmann.

In China, for China

In recent years, Audi has been building up a dedicated ecosystem for China around its brand that features products and services that go beyond the car, including a convenient sales experience, hassle-free charging, and various community and entertainment features.

The ecosystem is also designed to be a platform for its users to share experiences and register for product-related events, enjoy immersive in-car entertainment and social media experiences from popular Chinese streaming and social media apps as well as immersive gaming. Various features are being planned which aim to improve the well-being of passengers.

A central cornerstone of its ecosystem for China is charging, and as part of its e-transformation, Audi is constructing its own charging network. The 360-kilowatt stations can offer a fast-charging service that slashes the waiting time for Audi owners.

It opened its first batch of High Power Charging stations in late 2022, starting in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and Shenzhen of Guangdong province.

Juergen Unser, president of Audi China, said that the brand plans to open around 600 charging piles throughout China until the end of 2023, adding that there will be "a significant expansion in the next few years".

Ready for a brighter future

For the German automaker, 2023 will be crucial in its transformation.

The Audi Q6 e-tron, its first model based on the PPE platform, will be released globally in the second half of this year and will be imported into China in 2024. The model will then be locally produced at the Audi FAW NEV Company's Changchun plant in Northeast China's Jilin province later in the same year.

The plant, which is still under construction, will produce all-electric Audi models based on the PPE platform, starting with three models from the Audi A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron series.

As part of its business roadmap for China, Audi is strengthening its development capabilities in China with a new R&D center. The new R&D center supports Audi's efforts to establish additional research and production capacities in the country. Its new state-of-the-art research and development center in Beijing serves as a key innovation hub for the next-generation technologies.

Looking ahead, Audi will further optimize its marketing strategy in response to Chinese customers' needs.

"We are creating a completely new and exciting premium customer experience with new customer touch points," said Unser.

According to the brand, customers in China prefer to get in touch with their brands online and via city stores in urban city centers, like shopping malls located in the central business districts of China's megacities.

So far, three different types of stores — urban showrooms, upgraded 4S stores and central business district-based showrooms — have been developed around Chinese customers' preferences to meet demand in China.

The urban showrooms support Audi's online sales with local partner SAIC, the 4S stores support sales with partner FAW and the showrooms in CBDs are specifically for Audi e-tron and Audi Sport models with its partner FAW, according to Audi.

tangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn