3 years ago
Audi is teaming up with China's oldest carmaker FAW to produce luxury electric vehicles.
FAW China's third largest carmaker is trying to gain ground in the world's largest electric car market against domestic competitors like Geely and SAIC.The new joint-venture factory will build fully-electric Audi models.
The $4.6bn facility is set to open in 2024 in Chungchun in China's Northeast, according to Audi.
In a press release President of Audi China Werner Eichhorn said partnership between Audi and FAW heralds a new era of electrification as the next 'golden decade' for Audi on the important Chinese market.
China is the single biggest market in the world for Audi, which sold more than 700,000 vehicles there in 2020.
The German luxury brand wants electric vehicles to make up one-third of its sales in China by 2025. Audi and its owner Volkswagen will own a 60% stake in the joint venture, while FAW will own 40%.
FAW already produces Audi models locally and has a longstanding relationship with Audi and its parent company Volkswagen.
The company was created as part of an industrialisation push by Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong in the 1950s.
Its premium Hongqi models, which were originally created to transport diplomats and communist party officials, fell out of favour in the 1980s before being revived amid a national push to promote Chinese brands.
China's President Xi Jinping rode in a Hongqi limousine during a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2015.
FAW sold more than 3 million units in 2020, including 200,000 of its premium Hongqi branded cars. The company plans to electrify most of its Hongqi models by 2025.
