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July 2013
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Audi celebrates double jubilee in China
Foshan/Changchun/Ingolstadt - Audi celebrates the 25th jubilee of its
partnership with First Automotive Works (FAW). At the same time, Audi is
today delivering to a customer its two-millionth car in China, a locally
produced Audi A6 L. The two companies have announced that they will work
together on a plug-in-hybrid project.
Audi celebrates the 25th jubilee of its partnership with First
Automotive Works (FAW). At the same time, Audi is today delivering to a
customer its two-millionth car in China, a locally produced Audi A6 L.
The two companies have announced that they will work together on a
plug-in-hybrid project.
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Audi is celebrating the 25th jubilee of its partnership with First
Automotive Works (FAW). The approximately 2,000 guests in the grounds of
the future production site for the Audi A3 Sedan and the Audi A3
Sportback in Foshan include board members of representatives of AUDI AG,
of the partners FAW, and of the joint venture FAW-Volkswagen. At the
same time, Audi is delivering to a customer its two-millionth car
in China, a locally produced Audi A6 L. The two companies have announced
that they will work together on a plug-in-hybrid project. |
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“Expansion of our production capacities in China and cooperation with
FAW on a plug-in-hybrid project especially for the Chinese market are
important milestones,” stated Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of
Management of AUDI AG on the occasion of the jubilee celebrations,
adding that China is Audi’s most important single international market.
Stadler: “With our involvement in China, we are strengthening our
international competitive position and moving closer to our goal of
selling more than two million automobiles per annum worldwide by the
year 2020.“
With an annual capacity of 150,000 to 200,000 cars by the
end of 2013, Foshan will make a significant contribution within the
international Audi production network. In this way, the company is
giving the Chinese premium market a further boost. “With the Audi Q3 and
the Audi A3, we will be the first manufacturer to offer two locally
produced model series in the growth segment of premium compact cars,”
stated Dietmar Voggenreiter, Head of China Operations at AUDI AG.
Qin Huanming, Vice-President of the FAW Group, emphasized the strong
foundations of the cooperation: “Audi and FAW have been cooperating
closely for 25 years. With the new partnership for electric mobility, we
are sending out a clear signal that we are also actively and jointly
shaping the future of mobility.” Both companies are further extending
their intensive cooperation in the fields of local automobile
development, regional product tests and the qualification of parts from
suppliers. As pioneers, the partners had already designed special long
versions of the Audi A6 and Audi A4 for the Chinese market.
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Early in 2013, AUDI AG opened a research and development center in
Beijing and thus laid the foundations to boost innovation in Asia.
Audi is also setting new standards in China in terms of sustainability.
The new factory in Foshan will be built and operated according to strict
efficiency criteria. As the first producer in China, Audi will install
its efficient start-stop technology and kinetic energy recuperation in
all locally produced models. Since the start of the efficiency program
with FAW-Volkswagen in 2011, Audi has reduced the average fuel
consumption of its cars produced in China by approximately 20 percent.
In the readers’ voting for “Best Cars 2013” in the Chinese issue of the
German car magazine “auto motor und sport,” Audi was the winner of
several categories including “Environmentally Friendly Cars,” “Product
Reliability” and “Product Quality.” Audi received a total of ten awards,
more than any other competitor. Audi is the first brand with lightweight
components from local production. To promote the practical training of
its future employees, Audi supports projects at vocational training
colleges in Foshan und Changchun, establishing elements of the German
dual training systems in China.
Audi celebrated the delivery of its one-millionth automobile in China in
2010. Within just three years, Audi has now reached the two-million
mark. The brand with the four rings is the market leader in the local
premium segment and delivered more than 400,000 cars to Chinese
customers within one year for the first time in 2012. And in the first
half of 2013, Audi for the first time passed the number of 200,000 unit
sales by the middle of the year.
With the Audi A3 as Sedan and Sportback, Audi will already establish the
fifth locally produced model series in China in 2014. At the Changchun
plant, Audi already produces the Audi A6 L, the Audi A4 L, the Audi Q5
and the Audi Q3. Production capacities in China (Foshan and Changchun)
can be flexibly adjusted to satisfy a market demand of up to 700,000
units per annum in the coming years. By 2020, Audi will expand its
exclusive dealer and service network to more than 700 outlets. There are
currently more than 300 Audi dealerships in over 130 cities in China. In
the latest J.D. Power quality survey in 2013, Audi took first place for
service quality and customer satisfaction in China.
The Audi success story in China started in 1988 with a license agreement
between Audi and FAW. The two partners agreed on the assembly of the
Audi 100 from parts kits at the FAW plant Changchun. In 1995, Audi’s
assembly was integrated into the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture, of which
Audi then became a shareholder.
Photo: Audi
(2013-07-25)
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