Shanghai (ZXZC)- Chen Hong, chairman of SAIC Group revealed that Audi has acquired a 1% stake in SAIC-VW. Audi's 1% stake acquisition in SAIC-VW will lay a solid foundation for the development and manufacturing of first SAIC-Audi model. Legally, thanks to Audi's 1% stake acquisition, SAIC-VW now is eligible to manufacture and sell Audi-branded models.

Previously, Audi announced that it was in constructive talks with SAIC about future cooperation in order to further strengthen its involvement in the Chinese market.

In November 2016, SAIC Group announced that it had signed an agreement with Volkswagen Group to build a JV to co-produce and sell Audi models in China. However, the move was thwarted by FAW-VW dealers, because they think the SAIC-Audi will harm their benefits. Thus, the SAIC-Audi JV program was forced to be shelved to terminate the dispute with dealers.

Audi confirmed that the highly-anticipated SAIC-Audi project was pushed progressively. It is said that senior executives of Audi will take positions in SAIC-VW, marking that SAIC-Audi program will be accelerated to be put into action. Previously, SAIC-Audi's first model will reportedly hit the market at the beginning of 2022.

In the meantime, Audi also stressed that it will roll out more models in the Chinese market via the cooperation with another local partner, FAW Group, especially in the EV and SUV segments. Ten all-new SUV versions are planned for the coming five years, seven of which will be produced locally. This means that the Audi portfolio produced locally at FAW-VW will be more than doubled by 2022. With the joint establishment of a new sales company and a joint venture for mobility and digital services, Audi and FAW Group are restructuring their business in China for the next growth phase.