Reported by Pulsestacks on May 22nd, the new era of joint ventures in the Chinese automotive industry has truly arrived, from Volkswagen and Xiaopeng, Stellantis and Leapmotor, to Audi and SAIC.
After brewing for 10 months, the cooperation between SAIC Group and Audi has finally seen new progress. Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding for deepening strategic cooperation in July 2023, the two parties officially signed a cooperation agreement on May 20th. The joint development of the Advanced Digitized Platform (ADP) has been launched, with Fermín Soneira from Audi appointed as the CEO of the collaborative project.
Jia Jianxu, Vice President of SAIC Group and General Manager of SAIC Volkswagen, described this collaboration as "sharing beauty and common prosperity." Through "technological empowerment," both parties will jointly propel SAIC Audi into a new era and onto new tracks. In the past, Audi and many other foreign brands in the Chinese market were pioneers and leaders, with their joint ventures often able to navigate through experiences. Now, both joint venture partners stand in the middle of the river. Only by holding hands and moving forward in sync can they resist the swift currents.
Leveraging the intelligent digital platform mentioned above, the launch time of the new models from SAIC Audi will be shortened by over 30%. The collaborative models will target the B and C markets, with the first product expected to hit the market in 2025, enriching its already sparse product lineup.
In 1988, after five rounds of negotiations, Audi settled in FAW.
In 2016, with a single announcement, SAIC became Audi's second partner in China, eventually leading to the launch of the first model in 2021.
Once there was Volkswagen in the north and south, now there is Audi in the north and south.
Audi's addition of a new joint venture partner is not aimed at causing internal conflicts. Elevating the premium brand to a higher position is the vision and goal behind the birth of SAIC Audi for Jia Jianxu.
In addition to the introduction and layout of fuel vehicles, leading and innovative new energy vehicles have also become the "ammunition" that Audi urgently needs to possess.
To this end, in July last year, Audi successively signed memorandums of understanding with SAIC and FAW. Among them, Audi and FAW will strengthen cooperation in production, manufacturing, and sales. Audi's new energy company will also start production by the end of 2024 to build Audi models based on the PPE platform.
The memorandum of understanding between Audi and SAIC, together with the cooperation between Volkswagen and Xiaopeng Motors, has caused a stir in the industry.
According to official statements at that time, both parties will jointly develop and expand the intelligent connected electric vehicle product portfolio in the high-end car market. The first step in the plan is for Audi to launch a new electric vehicle model to supplement the segments not covered in China before, while also envisioning the joint development of a new localized platform for the next generation of intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs). Jia Jianxu mentioned that in the era of big data and AI, SAIC Audi's products need to achieve personification, making cars become mobility companions for travel.
The Advanced Digitized Platform intelligent digital platform has been launched for research and development as scheduled, only taking 10 months. The SAIC Volkswagen Anting factory will temporarily close for comprehensive renovation on May 24th, with plans to start production of a new SAIC Audi model ten months later.
Currently, the Audi-SAIC cooperation project is divided into three teams: Audi, SAIC, and SAIC Volkswagen. CEO Song Feiming, previously in charge of Audi's A to C series electric vehicle product line, spent 11 weeks prior to better understand the Chinese market for smoother progress in the collaboration.
This means that the collaborative project requires the integration of teams from three companies, as well as the coordination of Chinese and German teams to work together.
However, for a joint venture, speeding up research and development is essential. This requires joint development with ecosystem partners, combining development processes in a "series-parallel" manner, and using digital development tools to improve efficiency. The most direct way is to leverage time zone differences. Starting from the design phase, Audi's team has been utilizing the time difference between China and Germany, taking turns in a relay fashion. The German team provides the latest design version when the Chinese team wakes up, resulting in a total of about 20 working hours in a day. This collaboration model has also accelerated the progress of work for both Chinese and German teams.
Of course, the most crucial point is to uphold Audi's DNA and quality. As the project CEO, Song Feiming has a veto power. "No matter how fast the speed is, if it does not meet Audi's requirements, it absolutely cannot be implemented."
For SAIC, its role is more like building a bridge to connect Audi with China's excellent supply chain, including the supply chain for intelligent vehicles, enabling more intelligent partners to connect with Audi's ecosystem. Secondly, cost reduction is also one of the goals of the cooperation project between Audi and SAIC. Jia Jianxu's view is, "Intelligence does not raise costs, but lowers costs."
As for how SAIC and Audi divide their work, Jia Jianxu also gave a direct answer: "If we still need to argue about who has the final say, that itself is a problem. Where is the demand, and what will happen in three years, that is the key."
"We divide the car into the upper body and lower body. For the lower body, Song Feiming has the final say, he sets the technical requirements, and we mainly aim to meet them. For the upper body, half listen to him, and half listen to me." He explained that Audi's century-old history of car manufacturing, Audi's aesthetics and chassis technology are trustworthy. "But what is more suitable for Chinese consumers, many things related to the consumer experience when opening the car door, we must discuss and decide together."
In this once-in-a-century transformation period for the automotive industry, China's development speed in electrification and intelligence is evident. "You need to make bold predictions about the future. No one is feeling their way across the river by touching stones because the stones of the past are no longer there to touch. Looking ahead, how we cross the river together is the most important thing."
Jia Jianxu believes that in the near future, more and more high-end brands will take the same path.
