German automaker Audi AG has signed an agreement to form a new company with Chinese car manufacturer FAW Group to produce electric vehicles (EVs) in China, increasing the number of vehicle models it makes in the country to 12 by the end of 2021, as per media reports citing a statement by the company.
The company will begin production of the first Premium Platform Electric (PPE) model by 2024 using Audi’s PPE EV platform which was co-developed with Porsche.
The Board of Management of Audi, Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group, and Board of Management of the FAW Group confirmed that the newly founded Audi-FAW company will be headquartered in Changchun in the northeast of China.
As per the agreement, Audi and its parent company Volkswagen hold 60pc of the shares in the joint venture.
The formation of the new PPE company is officially scheduled for the first quarter of 2021 after it receives the consent of all stakeholders. Chinese authorities have already given permission for the same.
Audi said the new venture will also position it for future success in China’s growing New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market. NEVs include plug-in hybrids as well as fully-electric vehicles. In 2020, Audi sold 727,000 cars in China.