Audi E5 Sportback Production Begins In China

The first serial model of the newly founded AUDI brand, created especially for the Chinese market—the AUDI E5 Sportback—rolled off the assembly line on August 18 in Anting.

Pre-sales of the AUDI E5 Sportback, developed in a strategic partnership between Audi and its Chinese partner SAIC, began on the same day: Customers in China can now order the model. The first vehicles will be delivered in September.

Fermin Soneira, Managing Director of the AUDI brand dedicated to China, says, “Each AUDI brand vehicle embodies the best of both worlds: iconic design, premium quality, technical precision, and emotional driving dynamics, combined with the latest Chinese technology, innovation, and digital ecosystem. With pre-sales now launched alongside production, the E5 Sportback enters the market fully equipped to provide an uncompromising experience to Chinese customers.”

To produce the AUDI models, the two partners established a dedicated production facility at the existing SAIC Volkswagen site in Anting, Shanghai. Initially, around 700 employees will produce the AUDI E5 Sportback there.

Two more AUDI models are planned to follow in the next two years. Manufacturing operations at Anting are defined by a high degree of automation, state-of-the-art technologies—including machine learning for quality monitoring—and a fully digitized production management system.

AUDI E5 Sportback: the first production model of the new AUDI brand

The AUDI E5 Sportback is a fully electric car that combines dynamic proportions, power up to 579 kW, and a maximum range of 770 km. Four different powertrains offer rear-wheel drive or quattro for a dynamic driving experience, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in up to 3.4 seconds. Built on the new Advanced Digitized Platform (ADP), the E5 Sportback offers next-generation connected vehicle functionality and full car updates via the Internet.

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