In the domestic luxury car market, although Audi has been surpassed by Mercedes-Benz and BMW in sales in recent years, it remains a mainstream luxury car brand overall. There is not much difference between Audi and its competitors in terms of sales and brand influence.

Moreover, Audi is the only luxury car brand in China that has two joint ventures. These two joint ventures are FAW-Volkswagen Audi and SAIC Audi.

However, looking at sales figures, it is evident that FAW-Volkswagen Audi remains the main sales force for Audi in China. As for SAIC Audi, it basically plays a minor role.

Taking the sales data for October this year as an example, FAW-Volkswagen Audi sold 45,040 vehicles, while SAIC Audi sold only 3,000. The sales of FAW-Volkswagen Audi are 15 times that of SAIC Audi, highlighting the latter's underperformance.

To turn the tide, SAIC Audi has seen frequent changes in senior management in the past two years. From Jia Mingdi to Yang Siyao and then to Xie Shiqi, the position of General Manager of SAIC Audi's Marketing Division has seen a revolving door of appointments. Even so, SAIC Audi has still not been able to achieve a significant breakthrough in sales.

A review of SAIC Audi's historical sales records since its establishment reveals that, apart from a record high monthly sales of 7,579 vehicles in December 2023, monthly sales have never exceeded 5,000 vehicles.

Judging from these sales figures, SAIC Audi is indeed in a precarious position.

Faced with the booming domestic new energy vehicle market, Audi and SAIC have decided to collaborate again. On November 7, AUDI, a new luxury pure electric vehicle brand jointly created by Audi and SAIC, was officially established, with its first concept car also making its debut simultaneously.

This is a mid-size pure electric station wagon. In addition to its futuristic and technologically advanced design, the new car features a bold innovation: it no longer bears the four-ring Audi logo but instead displays the Audi brand name in English letters. The new car is expected to be officially launched next year.

It is unclear whether this new brand will only be sold domestically or if it will become a sub-brand of Audi. However, from a market perspective, AUDI will undoubtedly face significant pressure from new energy vehicle makers such as NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, AITO, and Leap Motor, which have performed well in sales.

Nevertheless, the establishment of this new automotive brand at least demonstrates Audi and SAIC's determination to enter the domestic high-end new energy vehicle market.

Moving on from new energy vehicles, let's discuss a recent high-profile issue concerning Audi: layoffs.

According to foreign media reports, Audi may lay off 15% of its workforce, affecting 4,500 jobs in Germany alone. The reason for the layoffs is likely related to the decline in both sales and revenue.

The latest financial report shows that Audi's sales fell by 16% in the third quarter, with revenue down 5.5% year-on-year and profits down 91% year-on-year.

While laying off employees and entering the high-end pure electric vehicle market, Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, is indeed experiencing a "bittersweet" moment. As for how AUDI will perform in the domestic high-end new energy vehicle market, let's wait and see.

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