Chinese electric vehicle joint venture between Audi AG and SAIC Motor, developing premium EVs for the Chinese market on the ADP platform.
The AUDI E5 Sportback is Audi's China-only electric shooting brake, built with SAIC on the 800V ADP platform with no four rings on the badge. Four trims span a 299 hp RWD base to a 787 hp quattro AWD flagship, with CLTC range up to 773 km. Prices start from ¥235,900.
Audi's flagship electric SUV for China, built on the 900V ADP platform by the SAIC-Volkswagen joint venture and sold under the AUDI badge rather than the four rings. Five trims run from ¥269,800 ($40,000), with a 408 hp rear-drive version and a 680 hp quattro that reaches 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds.
| Model | Price from | Market | Body | Powertrain | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E5 Sportback | ¥235,900(~$35,052) | ChinaJul 2026 | Liftback | EV | On Sale |
| E7X | ¥269,800(~$40,089) | ChinaMay 2026 | SUV | EV | On Sale |
Starting prices in the market each car is sold in, on the date shown. USD figures are approximate conversions.
Audi and SAIC have opened the AUDI Innovation & Technology Center in Shanghai, a roughly 300-person R&D operation for the China-only AUDI brand covering chassis, software, AI cockpits and driver assistance. The two companies will jointly develop four models on the new ADP 2.0 platform, the first arriving in 2028.
An independent importer is buying AUDI E5 Sportbacks and E7Xs in China, shipping them to Germany and homologating them there. The E5 lists at €59,980 (about $70,200) against a Chinese guide price of ¥235,900 ($34,900), and the cars carry no factory support in Europe.
Audi chief technical officer Rouven Mohr says one model can no longer satisfy the US, China, and Europe at once. China gets a standalone "AUDI" lineup built with SAIC and sold without the four rings, alongside the classic Audi range which stays. The US and Europe will get more region-specific models and configurations too.
China's car market runs on a handful of giant groups, each fielding a stack of brands. Here is who owns what - the parent companies, the sub-brands, the Huawei alliance, and why the chart keeps changing.
The Volkswagens sold in China are built by two companies, and one of them is Chinese. That arrangement started in 1983 as a condition of entry, and it has since produced badges that exist nowhere else: Jetta, Wuling, and AUDI in block capitals with no rings. Who holds which half, which brands the ventures invented for themselves, and which of the old partnerships have quietly ended.
SAIC Audi Automotive Co., Ltd. is a joint venture established in 2021 between Audi AG and SAIC Motor, one of China’s largest automotive groups. Unlike the long-running FAW-Audi partnership that produces traditional Audi models for China, the SAIC-Audi venture focuses exclusively on next-generation electric vehicles developed from the ground up for Chinese consumers.
The joint venture operates on the ADP (Audi e-drive Platform), a 900V high-performance EV architecture co-developed with Chinese engineering teams. Models produced under this venture carry the AUDI (SAIC) designation to distinguish them from FAW-Audi products.
