Audi charging into China's green car market
German carmaker plans to launch rangeof green vehicles on the mainland market
Audi, the luxury brand of German carmaker Volkswagen, plans to enter the mainland's green car market with its plug-in hybrid despite hurdles that include lack of infrastructure and technological challenges.
"With the limitations in battery technology today, you always suffer a lack of range and there is still missing infrastructure," Audi's chief executive Rupert Stadler told the "You cannot wait on the fourth ring road [in Beijing] to recharge your battery. No premium customer will accept this," he said, adding that a plug-in hybrid car was the best choice.
The Chinese government has pledged to encourage the adoption of new-energy cars as part of its efforts to battle pollution. Subsidies for the purchase of pure electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles are provided, while the government is also considering tax incentives and a series of other support measures.
Two models in Audi's A-range, the A6 and A3, would be the first plug-in hybrid vehicles the German carmaker planned to put on mainland roads, Stadler said. The cars would be locally produced with Audi's Chinese joint venture partner FAW Group, he said, without providing a time frame.
A part of Audi's e-tron family of electric and hybrid concept cars, the A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid electric car has a range of 50 kilometres when using the battery and a further 700 to 800 kilometres with the petrol engine, he said.
This type of plug-in hybrid vehicle could offer mainland customers a zero-emission driving experience while having the security of additional driving range if needed, Stadler said. "At phase one [of the development of China's new-energy car industry] it is very clear that plug-in hybrid technology will be at the forefront in the coming years," he said.
Audi has outlined a long-term vision for the mainland's green car market. Stadler said this will involve annual introductions of new e-tron products, including SUVs and other models in the A-range.
In the medium to long term, Audi plans to introduce pure battery electric vehicles with a driving range at least double that offered by the current models, he said. This would represent phase two of the mainland's green car development when battery and energy technology were developed to a new level, he added.
China's new-energy car sales last year reached 17,600 units, while the government's target is to have 500,000 cars sold or in production by 2015.
Although Stadler believes the current infrastructure on the mainland is not ready for adoption of pure battery-powered electric cars, US-based electric carmaker Tesla became the talk of the town when it tapped the Chinese market with its high-priced all-electric car.
Stadler said the business model of Tesla and premium brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes was different. "You can do a lot of marketing efforts to create a brand experience but if a customer has doubts because there is no fuel station for the battery, [they] will not be happy," he said, adding that customers expect Audi to offer maximum levels of reliability and quality.
