Last week, Audi confused just about everyone when it rolled out a sub-brand. While new automakers are frequently introduced in China’s hugely competitive market, this launch was different and confusing for two reasons. Audi and its local partner SAIC decided to simply call their joint company “AUDI” and use an unexpectedly simplified logo that didn’t include the treasured Four Rings.
Instead, the famous badge was swapped out in favor of four capital letters, “signaling both the connection to and differentiation from the sister brand.” But why did Audi decide to apply this disorienting strategy? An official explanation comes from Ralf Brandstätter, Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group China and Chairman of the China Board. In a LinkedIn post, commenters rightfully asked him why the AUDI E concept doesn’t have the fabled four rings:
"Of course, there will still be vehicles with the four rings in China. The new brand with the AUDI lettering has a more progressive design, but is 100 percent Audi DNA. It will address other new customer groups in China that we have not previously covered with the four rings. A good addition to our portfolio in China. We have a bold plan. Don‘t worry. "
Replying to a different comment, Brandstätter said:
"The Chinese market is very different from the rest of the world. Customer demands are different. And that is why an additional range with the AUDI logo and a progressive design makes sense. This allows us to tap into new customer groups for the brand in a rapidly growing market."
AUDI is apparently targeting “young, tech-savvy Chinese premium customers,” separate from Audi’s clientele. The luxury brand and SAIC decided against bringing back a historic company name even though there were a few options available: Auto Union, DKW, Horch, NSU, and Wanderer. Horch did return a few years ago for a fancy A8 long-wheelbase version exclusive to China. However, the young customers that AUDI and SAIC are targeting are unlikely to be drawn by these old names.
Starting fresh with a completely different name and logo would’ve made less of a splash in China where you’ll find more car companies than in any other country around the world. Keeping the Audi connection with the new namesake sub-brand should help the electric vehicles stand out more than the usual cars sold by Chinese automakers.
Beyond the different-but-still-the-same company name, the AUDI models will look substantially different than those sold by the traditional luxury brand. Brandstätter touts “a more progressive design” while retaining “100 percent Audi DNA.” Marketing buzzwords aside, the E concept is unlike any other electric Audi on sale today. It’s labeled as a Sportback, but different than the globally available swoopy five-door liftbacks and SUVs that use this terminology. It adopts a more wagon-esque silhouette and has a screen-heavy interior with minimal conventional controls.
Common sense tells us Audi will cannibalize sales of AUDI and vice versa but Brandstätter is confident the two can peacefully coexist. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Based on the Advanced Digitized Platform co-developed with SAIC, three production models will be introduced in China from the middle of 2025. There aren’t any plans to sell these EVs elsewhere, so the Audi/AUDI confusion will be limited to the world's second-most populous country.
