Audi says it has no plans to use the range of extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) it will introduce in China to Australian showrooms, despite pushing hybrid models here – and around the world.
This is what Marco Schubert, global sales director and board member of the German premium car brand, said Daily Sparkz The company is basing its launch of powertrain technologies, including EREV models, on customer demand in the local market – something it has not offered anywhere else in the world, even as Chinese automakers are rolling out more and more EREVs, including in Australia.
“We evaluate this technology based on market demand,” Schubert said.
“We obviously see the greater demand in China, where we have more range extenders, and in the range of Chinese cars (from other brands) that I understand are coming to Australia, also with range extenders.”
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“This is the technology that we are also completely open to. We have made some decisions for European and foreign (markets), but especially in the Chinese market we see demand for range extenders.”
The first of these is the large SUV Audi E7X, which is scheduled to come onto the market in China in 2027 and will be equipped with either battery-electric or EREV drives.
Stellantis-affiliated Chinese brand Leapmotor is offering its C10 mid-size electric SUV with an EREV option in Australia and is expected to follow suit with the smaller B10 electric SUV that was recently launched here.
Other Chinese brands are also considering locally launching EREV powertrains, which are essentially electric vehicles that contain an internal combustion engine solely to charge their batteries.
But that does not mean that Audi will transfer the technology from China, where in 2025, as part of a partnership with SAIC (the owner of the MG brand and many others), the company also launched its own brand “AUDI”, which is written in capital letters and does not have the famous four-ring emblem that identifies the quartet that together founded the German brand.
“They are not registered outside China,” Schubert said when asked whether Audi’s upcoming EREV range could be sold in other markets, including Australia.
“Right now… we want to compete in the Chinese market. As you know, the Chinese market is crazy – there’s a car launch every day this year, so (with) the large volume of vehicles it’s obviously a very competitive market.”
“We believe that we see an opportunity with our ‘AUDI’ – four letters as we call it – that’s why we did it. And in terms of volume requirements, that’s in line with others.”
“So we’re building the brand there. The product was voted Car of the Year in China, so that was a really good achievement.”
“The product has been well received and we need to consider how we develop it further – but it is specifically designed for the Chinese market because, again, it is the most competitive market and we want to compete there.”
Just as most small cars sold in Australia by Japanese brands come from Thailand, several non-Chinese car brands also sell Chinese-made models here, including Kia EV5, Hyundai Elexio, Mini Cooper Electric and Aceman, Cupra Tavascan, Lotus Eletre and Emeya, all Tesla and Polestar models and almost all Volvos.
The Tavascan is the first Volkswagen Group model to be manufactured in China for Australia since a small number of Chinese-made Polo sedans were imported into Australia in the mid-1990s.
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