FAW-Audi Q6L e-tron set to lead premium electric 3.0 era

Auto joint venture launches new SUV in response to demands of Chinese market

In the history of automotive joint ventures, FAW-Audi shines as a pivotal chapter, witnessing the evolution of China's luxury car market while pioneering paradigms for international automotive collaboration.

The 37-year-old joint venture kicked off its Tech Week in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Thursday, launching the Q6L e-tron and A5L sedan. This event underscores the Sino-German company's innovative prowess and reaffirms its vitality in the world's largest vehicle market.

By inheriting the technical heritage of Germany's Audi and using local insight into the Chinese market, FAW-Audi has entered the cooperation 3.0 era with these new models, the automaker said.

At the beginning of Audi's Chinese journey in 1988, it signed the country's first luxury car technology transfer contract, introducing premium vehicles and initiating localization.

Then in 1999, when the FAW-Audi A6L debuted, it pioneered the long wheelbase design to meet Chinese consumers' demand for greater interior space.

Over the past 37 years, FAW-Audi has upheld a customer-centric approach, adhering to Audi's global unified standards while tapping into local needs to develop technologies and products tailored for the Chinese market, earning the trust of nearly 10 million customers.

The automaker projects that by 2025, it will have over 10 million cumulative users in China. This would make it the first luxury brand to hit such a milestone and solidify its status as the most market-savvy international luxury brand in the country.

While intelligence is often considered the home turf of EV startups and a weakness for traditional brands, the FAW-Audi Q6L e-tron responds by fully embracing homegrown technology — integrating Huawei's customized Qiankun driving-assistance solution.

To cater to China's tech-savvy consumers, Audi partnered with domestic tech giant Huawei in 2019, making it the first premium automaker to collaborate with the company.

The newly launched Q6L e-tron, the first car from this partnership, merges German engineering excellence with Chinese innovation, positioning Audi to thrive in the country's competitive auto market.

The electric SUV is equipped with two LiDARs, 13 cameras, 5-millimeter wave radars, and 12 ultrasonic radars for 360-degree perception. It also features automatic cleaning and heating functions, which addresses LiDAR performance limitations in rain and snow.

Leveraging Huawei's customization, the Q6L e-tron offers map-free driving assistance on highways and urban roads, valet parking, saved parking spot information, remote parking, and automated parking.

To resolve validation differences, the partners adopted a "dual-track validation" process. This involved 1 million kilometers of testing on Huawei's simulation platform, followed by 100,000 km on Chinese roads.

The car is also the first built on the Premium Platform Electric, codeveloped by Audi and Porsche. As Audi's new luxury pure electric platform, the PPE boasts high scalability to meet diverse demands across premium segments, covering B — to D-class EVs and setting benchmarks for performance, range, charging speed, and driving dynamics.

Thanks to the PPE, the Q6L e-tron features an 800-volt architecture and supports high-power fast charging of up to 270 kilowatts. This allows ultrafast charging, from 10 percent to 80 percent, in just 20 minutes.

The model also adopts CATL's 107-kilowatt-hour ternary lithium battery, offering a maximum China Light Duty Vehicle Test Cycle range of 765 km.

Inside the Q6L e-tron's intelligent cabin, there is an 88-inch AR-HUD, 11.9-in OLED Audi virtual cockpit, 14.5-in OLED MMI touch screen, and 10.9-inch co-pilot entertainment screen to create an immersive digital experience where luxury meets cutting-edge technology.

Equipped with Chinese-tailored voice recognition for seamless continuous commands, plus industry-leading eye-tracking combined with voice controls, the cabin delivers smarter, more effortless journeys.

The system has over 75 ecosystem apps and pioneers experiences like in-car karaoke and cinema, transforming the cabin into a mobile smart living space. Seamless smartphone connectivity also extends functionality.

New production base

The Q6L e-tron was the first model produced at the Changchun production site of Audi FAW NEV Company — the first pure electric vehicle production base that Audi has built in China.

Designed to deliver the rigorous quality of German craftsmanship and quickly adapt to evolving Chinese customer needs, the base adheres to Audi's global standards, integrating advanced manufacturing processes and efficient production management to ensure a reliable output of cars.

With an investment exceeding 30 billion yuan ($4.17 billion), the base has a planned annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles. Since December, it has extended to producing China-specific PPE-based models, including the Q6L Sportback e-tron SUV and A6L e-tron sedan.

"With production starting at Audi FAW NEV Company, we are honoring our commitment to the Chinese market and taking a major step forward in our electrification strategy," said Gernot Doellner, CEO of Audi.

"The models produced here will play a key role in our local portfolio and strengthen our position in this critical market," he said.

Helmut Stettner, CEO of Audi FAW NEV, noted that the factory's body shop operates at 88 percent automation, with over 800 robots ensuring precision and efficiency. Every vehicle undergoes testing to German standards.

The plant was also designed to be carbon-neutral from the outset, powered in part by rooftop solar panels that meet a significant portion of its energy needs, Stettner added.

caoyingying@chinadaily.com.cn