Audi gets green signal for $3.3 billion electric vehicle JV with FAW in China

German luxury car brand Audi has received approval for setting its $3.3 billion electric vehicle joint venture with FAW in China, reports Reuters. The two automakers will start construction of their EV joint venture plant soon in Jilin province.

The construction work of the plant will start in April this year and the companies will invest a total of $3.29 billion in the facility. The EV plant is slated to start vehicle production in December 2024 and it will have the capacity to produce 150,000 electric cars every year. One of the electric vehicles to be built at this plant is the Audi e-Tron SUV.

The Audi FAW new energy vehicle project is an important cornerstone in the German luxury car manufacturer's electrification strategy in China. Volkswagen AG in a statement has said that it will start construction work for this facility in the second quarter of this year.

Audi and Chinese car brand FAWsigned a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in October 2020 to jointly produce premium electric vehicles in China, which is the largest car market in the world. In November last year, Audi said that the plant was behind the schedule due to a delay in approval by the relevant authorities in China.

While these made-in-China electric vehicles will be primarily focusing on selling in the Chinese market, they might export to other markets as well, especially in the Asian region.

Audi has a longstanding partnership with FAW to manufacture internal combustion engine vehicles in Changchun and in the southern city of Foshan. Apart from the latest Ev joint venture with FAW, the German car brand is also planning to produce electrified vehicles in association with Shanghai-based Chinese automaker SAIC Motor which owns MG Motor. Audi is aiming to grab a larger market share in the Chinese NEV market with these joint ventures and local production in the country.