Audi Rebirth: The First Egg

Audi, which has been caught in a "downward spiral" in the Chinese market, recently held a presale event at a factory, allowing the speakers on stage and the audience below to experience a long-awaited emotional release.

The Audi E5 Sportback (hereinafter referred to as the E5) is available for pre-order starting at 235,900 yuan. Cheers erupted from the crowd, seemingly celebrating: "Oh my, they finally got it right this time, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief."

Nothing is more distressing than launching a new car that you know won't sell, like giving birth to a child destined to die young. Over the past five years, Audi's various levels of electric vehicle managers have suffered, but still had to proceed. The same goes for BMW and Mercedes.

Fortunately, this time Audi did not make another mistake. Perhaps because it changed its name to AUDI. Under the lights, several freshly launched E5s lined up, resembling silver eggs shimmering with a faint glow. With completely different designs, interactions, and intelligent driving, they symbolize the rebirth of the Audi brand in China.

Over the past three months, I have specifically gone to Shanghai twice to test drive the E5. The first time, I experienced its handling and took a look at its design; the second time, I tested its intelligent driving and interactive features. Although this segmented experience was admittedly not fully satisfying, it gave me the opportunity to perceive the car from different perspectives. Here is a brief report of my impressions for the readers.

1. Styling. The front of the car looks like a sedan, the side resembles a coupe, and the rear resembles a wagon. The design is a perfect blend of the coupe TT, wagon RS6, and concept car RSQ, without any awkwardness. Although positioned as a luxury pure electric coupe, it offers spacious interior, massive size, simple and smooth surfaces, and futuristic lighting, resembling a space egg, especially in silver, with high recognition and head-turning effect on the street.

2. Handling. Exhibits the typical German sporty style—quick, precise, and resilient in acceleration, braking, and turning, with a responsive throttle. The front end is stable without being twitchy, and the rear remains planted without fishtailing. Extremely agile when weaving through traffic.

The chassis and electrical architecture of this car were jointly developed by Audi and SAIC. The difference is that the chassis tuning is led by a German team, with core components like the quattro intelligent four-wheel drive, progressive steering, and air suspension + CDC + Brembo four-piston calipers, all imported from Germany. If you want to experience the thrill of driving in the city, driving this car is perfect. This is the accumulation of Audi's century-long luxury, which new power brands do not possess.

3. In-cabin interaction. This is the part that impressed me the most. The entire cockpit interaction system—including visual, auditory, and tactile elements—feels calm and sophisticated. Especially the Audi Assistant, which floats just below the central control screen; its dynamic interaction with people is reminiscent of a sci-fi movie. It’s German design combined with Chinese intelligence (Doubao), offering a completely different experience compared to the in-cabin interactions of leading domestic brands. Ours feel like home: warm, enthusiastic, even noisy—eager to hold you close, surrounding you with pots, pans, oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar, chattering away in your ear. Theirs is like a cathedral: observing you from a distance, only responding and supporting you when you have a need. They don’t approach easily, but they’ll never abandon you either.

4. Intelligent driving. This time there's no hesitation; we used Momenta's LiDAR solution. No need to say more, it's a game-changer, directly entering the top tier in China.

To sum up in one sentence: This is a unique creation among all new models from joint ventures—a car aimed at China’s new generation of elite users, blending German driving dynamics and design with China’s strengths in EV technology, smart cabins, and intelligent driving. But what impressed me most were the expectations that Audi and SAIC have for this car.

Competing head-to-head with Xiaomi SU7 and Tesla Model 3. No longer aloof, directly entering the fray.

Compared to the Xiaomi SU7 and Tesla Model 3, can the Audi E5 compete? Let's compare the top configurations of these three cars.

Compared to the three, the advantages of the Tesla Model 3 P are: brand strength, intelligent driving, three-electric system, and charging network; the advantages of the Xiaomi SU7 Max are: design, range, acceleration, and intelligent ecosystem; while the advantages of the Audi E5 Flagship quattro model are: power, handling, space, and interaction design.

Each of the three has its own strengths, and none has any obvious weaknesses, which is a prerequisite for becoming a hit.

However, upon closer examination, you’ll find that the Audi E5 still has one fatal weakness: its brand. This isn’t about the issue with the letters in its name (many people think this is a barrier for buyers, but I don’t think so); rather, it’s that among users of smart electric vehicles, these traditional luxury brands of fuel cars—BBA—no longer hold any brand premium at all. This is truly a great irony, but history has always been this way: when a turning point comes, it turns its back faster than flipping a page.

Therefore, the pricing strategy of the E5 is crucial.

In fact, Audi and SAIC have already recognized this; otherwise, they would not have taken such a stance in product definition, supply chain composition, and pricing. A product strength corresponding to a starting price of 235,900 yuan is something that was previously unimaginable for the Audi brand.

But I still advise Audi not to harbor any illusions, thinking that this time my product strength is strong and at least my brand power is no weaker than Xiaomi’s. If you really expect AUDI to make a comeback, then you must first stand in the dust and fight your way up, battle by battle. Only in this way will the younger generation of Chinese consumers recognize and accept you.

No matter what, this is a good egg that inherits the fine traditions of both China and Germany. It is the first egg of Audi’s rebirth in China, and also the “hope of the whole village” for SAIC Audi, this joint venture company.

It deserves to be carefully nurtured, so that one day it will grow wings and be able to help Audi soar again.