Audi to boost new energy vehicle sector

Audi is one of the most premium automobile brands in China and the country has long been Audi's largest market worldwide. Since 2018, the Chinese car market has been shrinking and the downward trend is expected to continue for a while. New trends such as e-mobility are gaining momentum and different brands are launching new energy vehicles. Audi China President Gaby-Luise Wuest sat down with China Daily on Nov 21, a day before the annual Guangzhou auto show kicked off, and shared her expectations of the market while outlining the brand's development plans.

Are you happy with Audi's sales in China in the first 10 months of 2019? What is your expectation of sales for the full year?

Overall, we are very satisfied with our volume targets. Today we are still showing growth, and October was a very strong month when we had very good deliveries. Going forward, we have quite a young product portfolio and new products coming up. Of course, we have very high volume expectations. China is the biggest market for Audi, with every third car from our stable being sold here. But we are focusing on more qualitative growth, not just volume push.

What is your forecast for the Chinese automotive market in 2020 and beyond, especially in the premium segment?

We see that the market has been stabilizing or, even, slipping a bit. But the premium market continues to grow and we believe that in the future, too, the premium market will show growth.

That's because the share of premium vehicles is much higher in other markets than in China, so we believe that there is still room for growth here. Also, if you look at income levels, it is still showing strong growth, especially among the upper middle class. That will ensure that consumption goes up. So, even if the total market is flat, the premium market will maintain its growth momentum in the years to come.

Audi has launched two pure electric models in China, but a lot of others are doing the same. What do you think of the competition in this segment? Can Audi maintain its competitive edge?

We believe the new energy vehicle market will continue to grow. Its share might increase to over 25 percent by 2025. Yes, with everybody entering the sector, customers have a range of options to choose from and they do tend to switch. But if the market has to transform, it can't have just one or two manufacturers－the whole industry has to drive in the same direction. We have been able to keep ahead of the others in the past and we believe our clear strategy for the future will help us lead and be a part of this transformation thanks to our strengths, experience and capabilities as a leading auto manufacturer.

In addition, one very big pillar is that we are already very deeply rooted in China. We have a huge customer base. For the road ahead, being extremely close to our customers and to their feedback and being customer-oriented must remain the key.

Will Audi launch new energy vehicles of different powertrain systems, like electric ones, plugin hybrids and hybrids?

Yes, our plan is to launch about nine new energy vehicles in China by 2021. More than half will be battery electric, and the others will be plug-in hybrids.

How much is Audi investing in new trends of mobility, including electric vehicles? How much is expected to be spent in China?

Globally, Audi is investing 14 billion euros ($15.43 billion) in the areas of electrification, digitalization and autonomous driving. Of this amount, a large part will go to China because the country is a huge pillar of our global strategy. We have not broken it down region wise, because it's more about investing in technological capabilities, and there is a lot of technology that's developed in China but used around the world.

One of our big strengths is we find a lot of synergies within the Volkswagen Group. One example is the new energy vehicle platform, which has great importance within the group. We can use this platform to adjust our products, but there are also other opportunities. For example, there is the Premium Platform Electric, which is used together with Porsche.