Shanghai (ZXZC)- In early December, the name of FAW-Audi Sales Co.,Ltd appeared in the announcement on registration of enterprises' names issued by China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), marking a further progress in building an independent sales unit for FAW Volkswagen's Audi brand.

(Photo source: FAW-Volkswagen)

In March, 2018, FAW Group signed two MoUs with Volkswagen Group and Audi AG to establish FAW-Audi sales company and a joint venture focusing on mobility and digital services. Nevertheless, the sales firm, which was supposed to be built at the end of 2018, has not been launched yet.

Prior to the latest progress, the long-anticipated sales company was included in the announcement on approval of enterprises' names released by the SAMR in May, 2019, which was regarded as an omen to the birth of the sales arm. However, no more update emerged from then on.

Founded in January, 2016, the sales business unit of FAW-Volkswagen's Audi brand is now a part of the joint venture between FAW and Volkswagen Group, and its budget must be approved by FAW-Volkswagen's economic management committee. Once the sales company is officially launched, the sales unit of Audi brand will be detached from FAW-Volkswagen, and will get more autonomy in finance and personnel businesses.

On the other hand, Audi's joint project with SAIC Motor is being promoted at a fast pace after Audi acquired 1% stake in SAIC Volkswagen last year, which was previously held by Volkswagen Group. Furthermore, a bidding document exposed earlier this month revealed that the Audi A7L will be locally produced by SAIC Volkswagen.