The biggest thing in the automotive world!Audi actually announced a slowdown in the launch of electric vehicles!It is important to know that the global electric vehicle market is developing rapidly, especially in the Chinese market, and the transition to electrification has been irreversible. Why did Audi make such a decision?
First of all, Audi's slowdown in the introduction of electric vehicles is based on its own business considerations. In order to avoid the adverse impact of the slowdown in sales growth on factories and dealers, Audi's new CEO Gernault Durna said that in the short term, the promotion of internal combustion engines and plug-in hybrid vehicles will continue, and the introduction of pure electric vehicles will slow down. According to the previous Audi brand plan, 20 new models will be launched by 2026, half of which will be pure electric models. According to the new strategy, it is possible that not all of these models will be realized.
Secondly, the current sales of Audi's electric vehicles are not ideal. It delivered only 1230,000 electric vehicles, for comparison, Mercedes-Benz electric car sales are 17450,000 units, BMW electric car sales 2170,000 units.
At the same time, in the global new energy market, sales are also shrinking. On the contrary, the hybrid market is developing better. In 2023, the demand for electric vehicles for pure electric vehicles in the United States continued to fall in November, returning to 890,000 units, with a penetration rate of 7 pure electric vehicles3%。In terms of plug-in hybrids, the overall sales volume in the U.S. market in November was 2330,000 units, and total sales of plug-in hybrids from January to November were 2430,000 units. Hybrid vehicles were popular, with 110,000 hybrid vehicles sold in November, up 93% year-on-year. From January to October 2023, hybrid vehicle sales were 1.05 million units. In the Chinese market, plug-in hybrid models can also compete with pure electric models. Since plug-in hybrids also require internal combustion engines, Audi is clearly more confident in plug-in hybrids.
But I think Audi is slowing down the rollout of BEVs in the global market, but it shouldn't include China
Audi has been adopting a different strategy in China and continues to strengthen its electrification presence in the Chinese market. This year, it launched the Audi e-tron GT model, forming a new energy product matrix composed of Q2L e-tron, A6L e-tron, Q4 e-tron, e-tron, Q5L e-tron and other products.
In July this year, Audi and SAIC Motor reached a consensus in July this year that the two parties will quickly and efficiently expand their portfolio of intelligent connected electric vehicles in the high-end market through joint development. It is reported that Audi will transform the platform in cooperation with SAIC to ensure that the quality and tonality of the product can be integrated into Audi, and launch three new products, which are scheduled to be released in 2025After 2025, Audi and SAIC will jointly develop a new platform, with new products planned to be launched in 2027.
In the fiercely competitive Chinese electric vehicle market, for Audi, it is obvious that how to find its own positioning and speed is more important than fighting for quantity.