Audi has announced a new EV range in partnership with Chinese automaker SAIC. The electric sportsback concept car AUDI E concept does not feature Audi’s signature four-ring logo. It also does not use Audi’s existing EV brand ‘e-tron’, and only uses the ‘AUDI’ wordmark.
The bold rebranding is part of an effort to regain market share in China, where Audi CEO Gernot Döllner says, “Chinese premium customers are different from international customers. They are younger and more tech-savvy than their global counterparts. They expect leading connectivity and automated driving.”
It’s hard to see how the new wordmark relates to the existing Audi. The bland, uninspiring curves look like they could be used by any company. The letters look blurry at small sizes, and the A and D are barely connected. But at least you can read what they are.
