It is also a realignment for the German automaker, which entered China in the late 1980s and became, thanks to a partnership with domestic manufacturer FAW, the first global premium brand to adapt its cars to the Chinese market. For many years, Audi was synonymous with foreign luxury and later became the standard vehicle of the party elite.
But the precipitous rise of Chinese automakers, fueled by generous state support and a new middle class, has left global automakers playing catch-up. mitsubishi It stopped production in China. last year; Hyundai and Ford have closed either reduced operations in the factories. This month, General Motors reported that its Chinese business, operated jointly with several Chinese automakers, has seen sales fall nearly 20 percent this year. G.M. saying would restructure its business in the country, taking on a $5 billion writedown in the process.
The Volkswagen Group, which sells Audis as well as Porsches, Bentleys, Škodas and Lamborghinis in China, has seen a 10 percent drop in vehicles sold in the country this year. He the fall was responsiblein part, due to the decline in global sales that caused a drop in profits last quarter. volkswagen said last week would sell a plant in Xinjiang.
Still, as Ahuja points out, Audi has sold more than 9 million vehicles in China. He wants to stay in the country. AUDI (without rings!) is an attempt to do so. (Perhaps confusing is the fact that the automaker will continue to sell cars in China under the traditional “four-ring” brand as well.) “I don’t want to touch that legacy,” Ahuja says. “I want to evolve it even more.”
The rebrand also points to a deeper dynamic in the Chinese market, where global automakers, far beyond Audi (or AUDI), are struggling to maintain a foothold among a new generation of auto buyers. as Chinese-made cars skyrocket at home and abroad. And it points to a changing dynamic in consumer preferences that has already manifested itself on roads far outside the Asian country.
Back in 2019, BMW was defending its decision to go big with its 7 Series kidney grilles. At the time, BMW group design director Adrian von Hooydonk cited one of the reasons for the huge, imposing front ends as a “younger and more extroverted” Chinese customer. He also went on to say that the the grates would recede such as “I heard from (BMW’s Shanghai Design Center) that design tastes in China are developing rapidly… demanding more and more subtlety.”
Brand translations
On the one hand, Audi’s decision to eliminate the four rings is practical. Logos like Audi’s four rings “are very difficult to defend in China, from an intellectual property perspective,” says Jeff Lee, co-founder and partner at Northern Light Venture Capital, an early-stage Chinese company with offices in Silicon Valley. “It’s really easy to use five rings or three rings. And then there are hundreds of Chinese automakers that are just confused.” It helps that “AUDI” is easy for Chinese speakers to pronounce.