Audi Joint Venture i Kina godkjent for 3,3 milliarder EV-fabrikk

In 2020, Audi committed to a joint venture with China's FAW Group to produce luxury EVs. It's now coming to fruition.

Audi, Volkswagen Group's luxury marquee, has officially partnered with Kina-baserte FAW Group skal begynne å bygge et 3,3 milliarder anlegg for elektriske kjøretøy som skal drives i fellesskap. Ifølge ulike rapporter ga kinesiske myndigheter godkjenning for prosjektet 11. februar 2022.

Audi har allerede et etablert partnerskap med FAW Group for å produsere gass-drevne biler i Changchun. Imidlertid signerte den en avtale med gruppen tilbake i oktober 2020 med den hensikt å i fellesskap produsere luksuriøse elbiler i fremtiden.

A Volkswagen Group spokesperson officially confirmed the recent approval and provided the following comments. However, FAW Group hasn't yet provided a statement about the factory approval.

"The Audi FAW NEV project is an important cornerstone of Audi's electrification strategy in China."

"We are consequently pushing forward the relevant works in this project. The construction of the plant is planned to start in the second quarter of 2022."

Audi and FAW Group plan to begin construction of the plant this April 2022. It will be located in Changchun by, som er hovedstaden i Jilin-provinsen. Sammen har de to selskapene annonsert planer om å investere totalt om lag 3,3 milliarder på den kommende joint venture-fabrikken.

According to Bilnyheter, initial production at the upcoming facility won't begin until December 2024. The factory will be able to produce some 150,000 EVs annually, with plans to manufacture three different models, including the Audi e-tron crossover.

The joint venture with FAW Group isn't Audi's only electric vehicle plan for China. In fact, Audi says that by 2025, a third of its car sales in China will be electrified models. In addition to FAW Group, the German luxury brand is also working with SAIC Motor, which is based in Shanghai.