Audi showcases concept series in vision of future mobility

Volkswagen's premium arm Audi has showcased its forward-looking layouts for future high-end mobility, marking a new chapter of its development in the world's largest auto market.

The carmaker made the Chinese debut of two concept cars－the Audi skysphere and the Audi grandsphere－at its Celebration of Progress event in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Wednesday.

Audi plans to release a series of concept cars and ideas with which it wants to redefine the future of mobility, with the Audi skysphere being the first of the series.

The electric roadster blends advanced technologies with the amenities of luxury cars and features an adaptable wheelbase, which can change length based on driving modes, and boasts a digital cockpit with a retractable steering wheel that can be stowed away.

Electric motors and a sophisticated mechanism with body and frame components that slide into one another make it possible to change the wheelbase and the exterior length of the car by 250 millimeters. The vehicle's ground clearance can be adjusted by 10 mm to enhance comfort and driving dynamics, according to Audi.

"New technologies like electrification, digitalization and autonomous driving gave us the opportunity to create an experience that goes way beyond the one that typical roadsters offer today," said Gael Buzyn, senior design director with Audi.

The carmaker said the vehicle represents what Audi believes it could achieve, likely in the second half of this decade, as it pivots to electric and autonomous vehicles.

The Audi grandsphere concept car has been described as a private jet for the road by Audi. The interior of the 5.35-meter-long four-door sedan can transform into a "first class lounge" when the car is in self-driving mode, the interior turns into a spacious sphere of experience without a steering wheel, pedals, or displays with more space for the driver and front-row passenger.

The concept car accesses all the functions of a holistic digital ecosystem.

The third concept car Audi urbansphere will make its world premiere at the Beijing auto show in April next year.

Ashutosh Dixit, president of FAW-VW Audi Sales Division, said: "At Audi, we have evolved our powerful heritage into a future orientated brand. Through our emotional brand narrative of 'future is an attitude', we combine our proven Audi genes with our ambition to shape the future of premium mobility. A future that is increasingly sustainable and always digital, because what matters to the world matters to Audi."

Audi plans to only offer electric vehicles by 2033, following the introduction of its last vehicle with an internal combustion engine in 2026.

The carmaker said it wants to be a sustainable, social and technological leader in the future. And it offered electric vehicle customers an unparalleled onboard system with its own ecosystem earlier this year. The corporate strategy is expected to ensure Audi remains viable long into the future.

Based on the corporate strategy and the ideas of the sphere series concept cars, Audi aims to lead future premium mobility.

Under Audi brand's guidance, FAW-Volkswagen Audi is focusing on the Chinese market and is actively promoting electrification and digitization.

In the past 33 years, Audi has sold more than 7 million cars in China, making it the first and only premium carmaker to reach that milestone.

This is one of many firsts Audi has had in China. It was the first premium overseas carmaker to enter the Chinese market and the first to produce vehicles locally, with the Audi 100 rolling off the assembly line in 1988.

Pan Zhanfu, member of the board of directors, secretary of the Party committee and president of FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co, said, "Relying on local systems innovation and upgrades, FAW-Volkswagen Audi will write a new chapter of success in the new era with the efforts of FAW-Volkswagen, its shareholders and partners."

With the operation of two electric vehicle production platforms, the MEB intelligent factory in Foshan, Guangdong province, and the MLB evo platform in Changchun, Jilin province, FAW-Volkswagen Audi has internationally competitive R&D, manufacturing and quality assurance systems.

The brand is promoting digital transformation in all systems from products to services. It will transform the production, procurement and operation in a digital way and launch an online order-to-delivery system, which will provide more choices for customers.

The services are expected to cover all locally produced models by the end of this year.

To provide a better digital mobility experience, the carmaker has set up a digital R&D center in Chengdu, Sichuan province, and continues to strengthen its Internet of Vehicles R&D teams.

Cooperating with its shareholders, the brand is developing Level-4 autonomous driving technologies and 5G-based vehicle-to-everything technology based on the characteristics of the Chinese market.

According to Sun Huibin, executive vice-president of FAW-Volkswagen's Audi sales division, the carmaker is strategically developing Audi connectivity functions, which is expected to lead the luxury car market in intelligent connected functions by 2024.

The brand is also making efforts to upgrade user digital operation and to directly connect with users.

According to Sun, FAW-Volkswagen Audi will upgrade around 600 dealerships with a digital operations system by 2023. The app FAW-Audi 3.0 is expected to have more than 1 million users by the end of this year, and is becoming an active touch point for Audi with its customers.