At home in the markets
Key Facts
- With 690,083 vehicles sold in 2019, China remains the most important market for Audi.
- Audi wants to reposition itself in the Chinese premium market and is focusing on qualitative growth in the process.
- Consistent customer focus in China secures premium margins and reduces complexity and costs in the long term.
In just five years, this group will number around 500 million people. An affluent group of customers that is about as large as the European Union. Enormous potential for Audi. Indeed, the company already delivers one in three cars to a Chinese customer. Audi also continues to count on ongoing growth in China, its most important sales market. How will this be achieved? With a clear focus on the Chinese customer, on electric mobility and unmistakable design.
The Chinese market is a pioneer for electric mobility. Experts predict that in only five years’ time, the share of electric cars will exceed 25 percent. While politicians and the media in Germany are still discussing the end of the combustion engine, China is establishing hard facts. Volkswagen and Audi are reacting decisively throughout the Group: The future is electric. For Audi, electric mobility is an opportunity to reposition itself on the premium market in China. That is why the company wants to launch nine electric models by the end of 2021, thus responding consistently to change in the market. The launch of the Audi e-tron and Audi Q2L e-tron – tailored specifically to the Chinese market – symbolizes the kick-off to this electric initiative. Audi has defined clear priorities for this course in China.
Developing in China for China. That is how Audi is going to focus on satisfying the market-specific wishes of its customers and in the long run transform even further into a customer-centric company. It is also important that customer requirements are reported from the market back to headquarters. Mobile services and digital devices are proof that China has become an impulse generator and trend radar. What’s “in” here today will be sought after by the whole world tomorrow.
Premium in Chinese
Electric mobility has to be fun for the customer. It should not be a sacrifice – on the contrary: Most Chinese are looking for automotive exclusivity. And in China, this has a name: daqi. It implies an attitude that opposes any form of excess or overstatement and instead favors a more refined and differentiated approach. It reflects the premium standards that the Chinese expect from future electric cars: maximum comfort, customized features and an expressive design language. This poses a design challenge that can only be tackled as a team: Every day, designer Yunzhou Wu and his colleagues translate ideas from the market into concrete product requirements and design sketches.
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Explore. Analyze. Transfer: Close collaboration between the Audi designers and AIR Beijing and with the local sales team in Beijing.
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Immersed in the customer ’s world: Automotive design in China can be colorful. So-called “moody colors” are very popular among Chinese customers. The fashionable yellow hues in the Audi color palette were created by the Chinese design team. The trend toward color is now also visible on American and European streets.
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Right where it happens: At the Audi office, in the direct vicinity of the 798 Art Zone, right in the middle of Beijing’s fashion district with numerous artists’ studios and galleries, the designers work on new ideas for the Chinese market.
DNA of a brand
A study conducted by the AIR team found that Chinese customers expect a stronger visual distinction between combustion engine models and the new electric vehicles. Over the years, Audi has created a strong brand face. The radiator grille, the way the rings are presented and the innovative lighting technology are particularly distinctive features of this. “We have to develop this DNA further,” says Wu, “and make electrification visible and tangible for the customer.” Audi therefore relies on style-defining details that combine technology and beauty in a sustainable way. A prime example is the brand’s light signature. The digital Matrix LED headlights, which are available as an option for the first time in the Audi e-tron Sportback, not only enhance the appearance of the electric family, but also impress customers with new functions that make driving easier and more secure.
“It’s our job as designers to understand and interpret the rapid change in our customers’ preferences and to transfer those insights into strong products.”
At Audi, design always expresses “Vorsprung durch Technik.” It enables the customer to identify emotionally with the car and the brand and is therefore the number one reason to buy – in China and Germany alike. “It’s our job as designers to understand and interpret the rapid change in our customers’ preferences and to transfer those insights into strong products,” says Wu. After spending more than seven years designing cars at Audi in Germany, Wu has been back in his homeland of China for nearly two years and is convinced: “There’s a lot to learn from the Chinese market that we can apply to other markets. That’s why we need to exchange ideas regularly, rethink our processes and bring innovations to the market more quickly.”
German-Chinese collaboration has become an integral part of the international Audi design team’s work. It is an important step toward the consistent implementation of Chinese customer requirements in the early phase of product development. In a broader context, it contributes to a globally successful product.
