(Yicai) Jan. 17 -- Audi has appointed Johannes Roscheck as president of its Chinese arm to hasten execution of the German auto giant’s electrification strategy in its biggest market.

Roscheck, Audi’s current head of corporate control and finance, will replace Jürgen Unser on April 1, the Ingolstadt-based carmaker said in a press release on Jan. 15. After two years based in Beijing, Unser will return to Germany and new tasks at Volkswagen Group, it added.

“In the last two years, Audi has further expanded its presence in China and implemented important milestones in our electrification strategy,” said Audi Chief Executive Officer Gernot Döllner.

“We plan to further extend cooperation with our two Chinese partners in order to open up new customer and market segments quickly and thus consistently exploit the potential for smart, fully connected electric vehicles in this dynamically growing market,” Döllner said.

Audi has two joint ventures in China with local manufacturers FAW Group and SAIC Motor.

“Roscheck is exactly the right expert with international experience to take this further step in our transformation in China,” Döllner said.

Roscheck has more than 25 years of experience in auto sector finance and production. He was CEO of Audi do Brasil from 2017 to 2022 and has held other management positions at Audi's parent company in Hungary, the United States, and Germany, it said.

Audi’s sales in China jumped 13.5 percent to more than 729,000 cars last year, accounting for 38 percent of its total. Some 31,025 were pure electric vehicles. The firm aims to only launch pure EV models globally by 2026 and stop making gasoline cars by 2033, it said last March.

“Volkswagen is pressing ahead consistently with the technological change towards smart electromobility in the region with its ‘in China for China’ strategy,” noted Ralf Brandstätter, a board member of Volkswagen China.

“Audi, as one of the globally leading premium brands and technological pioneer in the group, plays a key role here," he added. “Roscheck will bring decisive impulses to Audi in this transformation.

Editor: Martin Kadiev