(Yicai Global) July 12 -- Audi will team up with Chinese partners to set strategic guidelines to promote its development in the electric vehicle field, the German auto giant said in response to a media report that it will buy the EV platform of a Chinese carmaker.

Audi entered China 35 years ago with a commitment to promote development of the country’s auto industry, Audi China told Yicai Global, adding that after all these years, it will have to undergo its biggest change ever to pursue the path of electrification.

Germany’s Automobilwoche newspaper reported on July 9 that Audi is in talks with Chinese EV makers to buy an EV platform to save development time and become more competitive in the Chinese market.

Major Chinese modular EV base layer structures include the sustainable experience architecture platform developed by Geely Holding, BYD’s e-platform 3.0, SAIC Motor’s Nebula, Changan Automobile’s EPA1 platform, Xpeng Motors’ Fuyao, Nio’s NT, and GAC Group’s AEP3.0.

Audi lags behind rivals, especially for EVs, Oliver Blume, chief executive of its parent company Volkswagen Group, recently said at VW’s investor day event. Audi postponed its plans to launch new EV models due to serious software issues, Blume added.

Ingolstadt-based Audi plans to introduce 30 EV models globally by 2025, including 20 battery electric models. Its annual EV output is expected to reach 800,000 units, and its EV sales will likely account for 40 percent of the total in five years, the automaker predicted.

To reach these targets, Audi needs a modular platform that can help it cut costs and improve efficiency. As the firm does not have its own electric platform, it shares four with other VW brands: the high-performance J1 developed by Porsche for Taycan, the modular electric drive matrix of the ID. series, the MLB Evo platform for fuel vehicles, and the premium electric platform that will be produced in the Chinese city of Changchun from the end of next year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione