Basis for top models?
Audi and the Chinese car group SAIC are joining forces for a deeper cooperation in the EV field. It should probably help Auid with a new platform for EVs, which may contain Audi’s top models.
It recently came out that Audi would be looking for a Chinese partner for an EV platform for its top models. This is because its own efforts within the Artemis project and Volkswagen’s Trinity project have not yet yielded enough results, but Audi does want to speed up the release of electric flagships. It seems Audi has now found a partner in SAIC to make this happen. The Chinese media Jiemian says it has confirmation that Audi and SAIC are ‘deepening strategic cooperation’. This should indeed lead to Audis on a platform from SAIC or a base that Audi itself has also contributed to. It is not yet clear which of the two it will be.
The collaboration does not come entirely out of the blue. Volkswagen and SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) have been working together for years and the joint venture also builds Audis for the Chinese market. MQB models such as the Audi A7L and the Audi Q6, but also the electric Audi Q5 e-tron on MEB basis. SAIC-Volkswagen may now be commissioned to develop a platform for Audi, but it is also possible that Audi will turn to SAIC Motor for an existing base. SAIC itself already has a fairly fresh modular EV base that should be good for up to 1,000 km of driving range and more than 800 hp. Here in the Netherlands we already know that base, because the MG 4 Electric is enthroned on it.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl