Audi Powers-up Chinese R&D

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Audi follows a trend set by other OEMs, notably GM, and opens an R&D Center in China. Located in Beijing’s fashionable 751 D-Park , the center will be busy doing product customization for the Asian market, especially when it comes to electronics and connectivity, along with components for new-energy vehicles and efficient powertrains.

Located at the site of an old coal-fired power plant, built in the bad old days with the assistance of East Germany, the 751 D-Park has quickly made a name as China’s fashion and design hub. Audi’s R&D Center is right in the middle of the center. It also helps that the 751 D-Park is in the North-East of Beijing, halfway between downtown and airport, thereby helping to avoid the worst of Beijing’s traffic, as long as one takes a plane.

Approximately a third of Audi’s sales are in Asia, and most of those are in China. If you are somebody in China, you show that with an Audi, preferably an A6 long, and most preferably one with a white tag and a red star. Blinking lights in the front grille help you get back to the airport on time.

Ignoring stories that government officials must eschew foreign premium marques and drive Chinese, Audi increased its 2012 sales in China by 30 percent. TTAC readers, serviced by experienced writers, never had to believe the story anyway. We wrote in February: “Just about every year, there was an announcement that the Chinese government will from now on only buy Chinese. It never happened.” And so it did not happen again.

Audi Sales 201220122011YoYWorld1,455,1001,302,65911.7%Europe739,000726,3181.8%USA139,310117,56118.5%Mexico9,4828,05817.7%Asia-Pacific478,900373,72428.1%China405,838313,03629.6%India9,0035,51163.4%

In November, the New York Times sounded the all clear, and wrote that the black A6 still is “the automobile of choice for practically any party official or military officer with enough clout to secure one.”

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Geozinger Geozinger on Feb 01, 2013

    "Audi follows a trend set by other OEMs, notably GM, and opens an R&D Center in China." What's notable is the lack of ominous overtones and fear-mongering regarding the establishment of the Audi R&D center vs. the establishment of the GM R&D center... It is nice to see that Audi follows GM again...

  • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on Feb 01, 2013

    That CGI image shows a poor balance of RCI zoning in the area. -endsimcityjoke.

  • 1995 SC At least you can still get one. There isn't much for Ford folks to be happy about nowadays, but the existence of the Mustang and the fact that the lessons from back in the 90s when Ford tried to kill it and replace it with the then flavor of the day seem to have been learned (the only lessons they seem to remember) are a win not only for Ford folks but for car people in general. One day my Super Coupe will pop its headgaskets (I know it will...I read it on the Internet). I hope I will still be physically up to dropping the supercharged Terminator Cobra motor into it. in all seriousness, The Mustang is a.win for car guys.
  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
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