Audi Sets Up Two New China Units to Keep Up With Ever-Changing Auto Landscape
James Boynton
DATE:  Mar 22 2018
/ SOURCE:  

(Yicai Global) March 22 -- Audi AG and its Chinese partner FAW Group Corp. have agreed to set up two new units focused on sales and digital development as rising competition pushes traditional carmakers to reposition themselves as mobility service providers.

The new firms will operate as wholly-owned subsidiaries of FAW-Volkswagen Co., a joint venture between FAW Group and Audi parent Volkswagen AG, and enter operation by year-end, Audi's China President Joachim Wedler told Yicai Global.

By replacing the former Audi sales division with an independent unit, the company can optimize its decision-making processes and respond to market changes more swiftly, Wedler added, saying the streamlined procedures will allow the firm to kick off major product initiatives in the coming years.

China's auto market is becoming increasingly service-oriented as car-sharing and ride-hailing rise to prominence. Didi Chuxing Technology Co., the ride-hailing colossus that drove Uber Inc. out of China, has partnered a host of carmakers, including the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, to roll out car-sharing services in the country.

Audi and FAW-Volkswagen will look to add more imported and locally-made vehicles to its China portfolio, Wedler added. The initiative will see the pair unveil four electric cars for in the country within the next five years as they look to reinvent themselves in the world's largest auto market.

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Keywords:   Audi,Automobile