On October 26, Audi China signed strategic agreements separately with FAW Group China and SAIC Motor, clarifying the "Dual Brand, Dual Partner" structure: the Four-Ring Brand is comprehensively operated by FAW-Audi, while the AUDI letter logo brand is focused on development by SAIC Audi. This "split" solution ended the long-term internal friction between Northern and Southern Audi, but the more critical issue lies in: after the brand segmentation, the electrification, intelligence, and brand recognition challenges for Audi in the Chinese market have not automatically disappeared.

Almost simultaneously, Audi announced that Zhang Jun would take over as President of Audi China starting from November 1, becoming the first president of Audi China with a Chinese appearance. Many media outlets attribute Zhang Jun himself as holding Chinese citizenship, but news confirmed from multiple sources by the author proves that Zhang Jun himself is not of Chinese citizenship, but rather Singaporean citizenship.

Additionally, it is learned that current President Luo Yinghan will return to the German headquarters in early 2027. This adjustment comes only two and a half years after the previous personnel change; within the past five years, Audi China has changed three persons in charge.

Of course, the focus this time remains the split of Northern and Southern Audi. According to the agreement, FAW Group China will comprehensively strengthen the market advantage of the Audi Four-Ring Brand in both intelligent luxury new energy vehicles and fuel vehicles, achieving synchronized intelligent evolution for both vehicle types, and guarding the brand recognition and profit foundation; SAIC Audi focuses on the AUDI letter logo brand without the Four-Ring logo, specializing in the pure electric track, and launching next-generation intelligent connected vehicles adapted to Chinese consumer needs.

It is understood that before the end of 2027, SAIC Audi can still normally sell Four-Ring products. During the transition period, after-sales services for both brand products will remain stable. Before the transition period ends, the Four-Ring models on sale by SAIC Audi will complete the transition transfer, with FAW-Audi taking over related existing user rights and dealer rights.

From a literal perspective, the core of this division of labor is to redraw the boundaries between two systems that were originally highly overlapping. FAW-Audi will take over the entire product line of the Four-Ring Brand in the future, including fuel powerhouses such as A6L, A5L, as well as new energy models such as A6L e-tron, Q6L e-tron, continuing the route of "gas and electricity advancing together". SAIC Audi will no longer add Four-Ring models, focusing on the AUDI brand new energy market, relying on the Shanghai Audi Innovation Technology Center to promote localization R&D. Currently, E5 Sportback and E7X under the AUDI letter brand have been launched, and more new energy models will be launched in the future.

For SAIC, this indeed looks more like a loosening. In the past, SAIC Audi was long constrained by the product overlap of the Four-Ring Brand, channel games, and price internal friction, making it difficult to form an independent brand narrative. Now, focusing on the AUDI Brand, SAIC can quickly define products around the needs of Chinese new energy users, reducing competition with FAW-Audi within the same family. More importantly, SAIC holds a 49% stake in the newly established Audi Innovation Technology Center AITC in September, making it the single largest shareholder. This means its voice on product definition, supply chain collaboration, and localization R&D is further enhanced. From a strategic position, SAIC Audi has shifted from "complementor of the Four-Ring system" to "test field for Audi China electrification", the direction is clearer, and actions may be more flexible.

But for FAW-Audi, the problem has not been solved by taking back the Four-Ring logo. The Four-Ring Brand is indeed the most stable asset of Audi in China. Models such as A6L, Q5L, A5 still bear the sales foundation, and fuel vehicle profits are still an important support for Audi China. At least Audi A6L can still sell over 8,000 units a month, but the downward trend is more obvious. In the first nine months of 2026, A6L sales in the Chinese market were 75,498 units, compared to 120,326 units in the same period of the previous year, a year-on-year decrease of 37.3%; Q5L dropped from about 106,000 units to 64,574 units, a decrease of 38.9%. The huge gap is hitting the confidence of FAW-Audi, rumors are that frontline technical workers and engineers in production plants have started to resign on a large scale.

Additionally, A6L e-tron, Q6L e-tron, and Q4 e-tron that have been put into production and sold on the FAW-Audi new energy PPE platform are almost in the bottom tier in the Chinese market. According to public data, Q6L e-tron cumulative sales from September 2025 to March 2026 were 3,689 units, averaging about 527 units per month; since then, monthly sales have mostly fluctuated between 400 and 900 units, 501 units in September 2026. Q4 e-tron monthly sales in May 2026 were 733 units, April was 1,491 units, month-on-month nearly halved.

The more realistic challenge lies in the fact that Audi's fuel vehicle foundation is shrinking. With the increase in new energy penetration, the terminal price pressure of traditional luxury fuel vehicles is increasing, and the brand premium is being continuously diluted. Even if FAW-Audi unifies the Four-Ring Brand, it must answer: in the window period where fuel vehicle profits are declining and pure electric models have not yet formed a scale advantage, how to avoid the Four-Ring Brand falling into a continuous decline dilemma. If new energy products cannot establish a sufficiently strong differentiated experience, the Four-Ring Brand may still face dual pressure on sales and profits. Audi insiders predict that 2026 Audi sales in China may only be slightly higher than 420,000 units, a decrease of about 30% from 2025, the lowest value since 2012. Even if the rumored Audi A8L is introduced, and Huawei elements are added, it is difficult to make progress in a short time.

The AUDI Brand also has underlying worries. It has shaken off the historical baggage of the Four-Ring logo, but also lost the natural cognitive advantage of the Four-Ring logo. For many luxury car consumers, the Four-Ring logo is still the core symbol of Audi brand value. For the AUDI letter logo to stand firm in the Chinese high-end pure electric market, it also needs to rebuild brand trust, price system, and residual value expectations. E7X received certain attention at the beginning of its launch, but whether it can continuously translate into stable sales still depends on product iteration, software experience, and channel capabilities. In addition, the new cars based on the ADP 2.0 platform will not land until around 2028, and there is still the risk of a product window period in between.

Let's talk again about the news of Audi announcing adjustments to the management team for the Chinese market.

Singaporean Zhang Jun took office to improve the response speed of Audi China in local competition. He used to work in Audi China, participated in FAW-Audi strategic projects, and also led the establishment of SAIC Audi sales team, and was not unfamiliar with the North-South systems. With him as President and Rolf Michaelis as Chief Operating Officer, it means Audi China attempts to shorten the decision chain by streamlining the structure, accelerating localization product launches and supply chain collaboration. However, personnel adjustments can only improve efficiency, not replace product strength. The North-South division solves the question of "who sells what", but has not yet solved the question of "what can be sold well".

Therefore, the true meaning of this split is to shift Audi's business in China from internal consumption to external competition.

It is reported that Audi China business revenue has declined for three consecutive years. In 2021 and 2022, it contributed 1.14 billion and 1.153 billion Euros to the group respectively, and then in the following three years it dropped successively to 915 million, 651 million, and 504 million Euros, a 56% drop from the 2022 peak. In the first half of 2026, Audi China business contributed only 73 million Euros in revenue.

For SAIC Audi, focusing on the AUDI Brand is an opportunity and also pressure: it must prove that without the Four-Ring logo, it can still gain recognition in the Chinese high-end new energy market. For FAW-Audi, the return of the Four-Ring Brand is an advantage and also a burden: it must make new energy products into a new growth engine as soon as possible before the fuel vehicle foundation shrinks. The next chapter of Audi China is no longer the North-South debate, but whether it can win back user choice in the smart electric era.