Audi expects to boost annual sales in China to 1 million in 2023, which represents a jump of 38 percent from volume generated by the German luxury brand in 2020.
Audi, dethroned by Mercedes-Benz as China's longtime top-selling luxury brand in 2019, will produce more models and expand output locally, Audi China President Werner Eichhorn said at an online media briefing Wednesday.
By the end of 2021, Audi said it will double the number of locally produced models to 12.
The company builds the A3, A4 and A6 sedans as well as the Q2, Q3 and Q5 crossovers at Volkswagen Group’s joint venture with China FAW Group Corp.
Later this year, Audi will add a third model -- the E-tron full-electric crossover -- to its China-built electrified product line, joining the battery version of the Q2 crossover and the plug-in hybrid variant of the A6.
Audi is also set to produce vehicles at VW’s partnership with SAIC Motor Corp.
The first product to be assembled at SAIC-VW will launch in 2022, Eichhorn said, without identifying the model.
In 2020, Audi delivered 726,288 vehicles in China, an increase of 5.4 percent from a year earlier.
Last year, sales at Mercedes-Benz jumped 12 percent to 774,382.
Deliveries at BMW and Mini combined rose 7.4 percent to 777,379. BMW Group didn’t disclose separate volumes for the two brands.
