Hot! Audi and SAIC Volkswagen officially signed a contract and new products will be released next year

Audi and SAIC Volkswagen have officially signed a contract to establish a new joint venture sales company, establishing a 50:50 equity structure. It is reported that the first product may be officially released in April next year and sold through the joint venture's own channels. The specific cooperation method refers to the cooperation between Skoda and SAIC Volkswagen.

Rumors about the two companies' cooperation in establishing a new joint venture have long been circulating in the market. Analysts believe that the cooperation between the two parties is based on the urgent needs of their current situation.

In fact, the earliest domestically produced Audi was assembled by Shanghai Volkswagen in a small batch. In July 1986, Shanghai Volkswagen began to assemble the "Audi 100" sedan. Later, in May 1988, FAW and Audi signed the "Technology Transfer License Contract for the Production of Audi at FAW", and it was only then produced at FAW in Changchun.

Although there are historical reasons, the most important thing is economic benefits. Although in the first three quarters of this year, the cumulative global delivery volume of the Audi brand was 1,408,800 vehicles, compared with 1,347,883 vehicles in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%, and in the first three quarters, FAW-Volkswagen Audi's sales in China were 438,376 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%.

Against this background, Audi started to contact SAIC Volkswagen as early as a year and a half ago. On the one hand, it can promote the self-transformation of FAW-Audi, and on the other hand, it can naturally expand its own territory.

For a long time, Volkswagen Group has always believed that the two joint ventures are beneficial to its layout in China. SAIC Volkswagen has also been competing fiercely with FAW-Volkswagen in the domestic market in recent years. Although SAIC Volkswagen's monthly sales growth rate in September was 26.7% better than FAW-Volkswagen's, its cumulative year-on-year growth rate was 15.1% lower than FAW-Volkswagen's. The gap between the two remains.

There are many precedents in China for a foreign automobile company to have two partners, such as GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda, GAC Toyota and FAW Toyota, Changan Mazda and FAW Mazda, which often launch two models in China based on the same platform.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.