Chinese AUDI vehicles have started to be sold illegally in Germany
The electric vehicles from China’s new AUDI sub-brand, designed exclusively for the Chinese domestic market, have begun to be imported into the European Union unofficially. Independent German importer Auto China has started supplying limited batches of the AUDI E5 Sportback electric liftback and the large AUDI E7X crossover directly to Germany.
Due to complex logistics chains, import tariffs, and the need to go through a full set of individual European certification (homologation) procedures, the final price of these vehicles for European buyers has doubled compared to their prices in China. In Germany, the E5 Sportback liftback costs at least 59,980 euros ($70,130), while its initial price in China was 205,990 yuan ($30,600). The large electric SUV AUDI E7X is priced at 72,900 euros ($85,200) in Europe, compared to an initial price of 269,800 yuan ($40,100) in China.
Despite such a significant price premium, these Chinese “gray market” models remain considerably cheaper than official Audi electric vehicles assembled in Germany. For example, the closest equivalent to the liftback model, the Audi S6 Sportback e-tron, costs around 99,500 euros in German dealerships, yet it only has 543 horsepower compared to 776 horsepower in the Chinese E5 Sportback. The Audi SQ6 e-tron sports SUV starts at 93,800 euros and falls far short of the Chinese AUDI E7X in terms of digital features and interior luxury.
Purchasing such imported vehicles comes with significant risks: the Volkswagen Group may seek through court orders the complete confiscation and destruction of illegal cars, leaving future owners without official warranties, service support, or software updates.
AC Guide
The creation of a separate AUDI brand (in uppercase and without the iconic four-ring logo) was the result of a strategic alliance between the German conglomerate Audi AG and the Chinese state-owned company SAIC Motor. The project was launched in 2024 to halt the rapid decline in sales of the German brand in the Chinese market, where consumers consider European electric vehicles outdated. Under this partnership, the Germans are fully responsible for the premium design, chassis tuning, and ergonomics, while SAIC engineers equipped the vehicles with their advanced electric architecture, high-capacity power batteries, and software.
Volkswagen Group’s strict response to the parallel import of similar cars into Europe is driven by concerns over internal cannibalization: the arrival of much more powerful, modern, and cheaper Chinese AUDIs at European dealerships could completely destroy sales of the official European electric cars e-tron, in the development of which the German conglomerate has invested billions of euros.