Soon after reports of an impending partnership surfaced, it has been confirmed that Audi and SAIC will work together on electric vehicle projects in China as the German brand looks to boost its local sales.
Very few details about the partnership have been announced at this early stage. Rumors suggested that Audi was interested in using the electric vehicle platform from SAIC-owned IM Motors as opposed to the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) from the Volkswagen Group which has been delayed on multiple occasions. Whether or not this alleged plan will come to fruition remains to be seen.
“All stakeholders agree that the Chinese auto market is in the midst of the biggest transformation in its history,” SAIC said in a statement. “Therefore we will jointly work on a strategic approach that guarantees our future success.”
Read: VW’s Next-Gen EV Platform Will Offer Up To 1,700 HP In 2026
Autocar notes that the platform developed by SAIC and used by IM Motors’ L7 sedan and LS7 SUV suits models with wheelbases ranging from 2,800 mm (110 inches) to 3,200 mm (126 inches) in length. This platform supports an 800-volt electric architecture.
In the midst of falling sales, Audi chief executive Markus Duesmann will be replaced in September by Gernot Döllner, the head of product and strategy for the Volkswagen Group. Duesmann has previously said that the company has seen a fall in sales across China due to a lack of vehicles optimized for the local market and acknowledged that Audi has to speed up the development of new EV models to meet demand in China.
The car manufacturer continues development on its own architecture with Porsche, known as Performance Platform Electric (PPE). However, it had planned to use the VW Group’s more accessible SSP architecture for some models but delays in the software development of this platform appear to have forced Audi to look for an alternative.
