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Audi unveils electric E concept representing the new AUDI brand, to be launched along with partner SAIC starting in 2025, previewing a new design and technology direction for the Chinese market.
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The concept is powered 100-kWh battery, producing 764 hp, and features a range of 435 miles or 700 kilometers, with the vehicle dropping the four rings logo and adopting a new design language that has little in common with the automaker’s current cars.
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Audi and its parent company VW have seen their dominance in China recede over the past few years, after holding a leading position in the market among European brands for well over three decades.
The Volkswagen Group is the European automaker with the longest presence in China, having launched production in the Middle Kingdom all the way back in 1984 with the debut of the locally produced VW Santana sedan. The Audi brand has been in China since 1988—also a long time when it comes to European/Chinese automaker joint ventures—having partnered with Shanghai-based SAIC.
In that time we’ve seen more than a few China-only oddities, including Hongqi limousines based on now-vintage Audi sedans, in addition to a variety of unique nameplates and body styles sourced from the greater VW parts bin with funky names like Sagitar.
Suffice it to say VW and Audi are big in China—or at least they had been for most of the past four decades. But the VW Group’s market share has taken a bruising over the past five years, as upstart Chinese brands have surged in popularity.
To relaunch its image in this important market, Audi has now spawned AUDI, in all caps, in China for China with longtime partner automaker SAIC.
“To this end, the company is launching its first new brand alongside the Audi E concept: AUDI—without the four rings logo but spelled in four capital letters—signals both the connection to and differentiation from the sister brand,” the automaker explains.
In effect, the company now regards the two as separate brands.
Inaugurating this new branding and design direction is the sleek concept, representing a generously sized dual-motor electric Sportback with exterior styling that shares little with the familiar, lower-case Audi lineup.
But its design does share quite a bit with other modern EVs, even if we can’t quite place it. Indeed, without the AUDI lettering, we probably would not be able to identify the E concept if it were shown to us badgeless. But the automaker is betting that this design language is what the buyers in the single largest EV market now seek.
Powered by a 100-kWh battery, the AUDI E concept promises nothing short of 764 hp and a range of 435 miles, along with 0-62 mph launch time of 3.6 seconds.
Those who have been following VW Group’s electric models for a while will probably guess that the PPE platform is underneath based on these specs, but the brand refers to it as the Advanced Digitized Platform.
“The joint platform will be the basis for a new generation of state-of-the-art intelligent connected vehicles exclusive to China,” says Audi CEO Gernot Döllner. “The upcoming models are aimed at a promising and simultaneously demanding new customer segment.”
Of course, the unique exterior and interior designs are the keys here, with the model having been penned by the automaker’s Beijing Design Studio, catering to the urban lifestyle of the country’s megacities in mind.
“Audi design—tailored for Chinese customers: the concept car’s exterior design is minimalist and calm but still striking, thanks to smooth round wheel arches and confident wrap-around lighting graphics at both ends,” the automaker says.
The interior represents slightly less of a departure from established Audi design themes, with an hexagonal steering wheel hinting at some measure of Ingolstadt pedigree, but the rest is simultaneously contemporary but also a little anonymous, with a curved 4K touchscreen stretching from pillar to pillar.
Just like the exterior design, the cabin could be difficult to attribute to any one specific marque if seen without any badging.
This concept exercise clearly pulls Audi’s design in the direction of any number of Chinese brands currently on the market there, as well as Lucid, setting out to attract a new and savvy demographic now used to this general design language.
“The automotive industry is undergoing the largest transformation in its history. With our partnerships in China, we are playing a decisive role in this transformation,” Döllner adds.
There’s no immediate danger of AUDI making its way stateside, at least for now, but it is still prudent to view this experiment as a preview of what we will see in China starting next year.
Would Audi dilute its unique design by going in this direction and dropping some familiar, established design elements? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
