Audi is changing its approach to creating new models. The company officially admitted that the era of the so-called "global car," equally suitable for all world markets, has come to an end. Now the German manufacturer intends to develop cars taking into account the preferences of buyers in individual regions.
This was stated by Audi Technical Director Rouven Mohr. According to him, the same car can no longer compete equally successfully in China, Europe, and North America.
The idea of a global car is a thing of the past. Today, one model can no longer equally meet the expectations of buyers in the USA and China.
That is why Audi created a separate AUDI brand in China in cooperation with the SAIC concern. This brand will produce cars developed exclusively for the Chinese market.
The reason is the rapidly changing preferences of buyers. In China, there is a growing demand for cars with a maximally digital interface, large screens, artificial intelligence, and modern autonomous driving systems. In fact, many customers perceive the car as an extension of the smartphone ecosystem.
In Europe, on the contrary, interest in more traditional ergonomics persists. According to Audi management, many European buyers still value physical buttons and switches, although the company continues to actively implement large curved displays and digital panels in almost all new models.
The new strategy not only allows for better adaptation of cars to specific markets but also significantly reduces development time. Audi said that they began to use the principle of "Chinese speed" — special project teams received direct access to the company's management, thanks to which the approval of technical solutions takes much less time.
According to the manufacturer, this approach has already accelerated the development of the new Nuvolari supercar, which will be the ideological successor to the Audi R8 and will receive a twin-turbocharged V8 hybrid powertrain, similar to that used in the Lamborghini Temerario. In the future, a production version of the Concept C, which will be the successor to the Audi TT, is planned to be launched on the market using the same scheme.