(Yicai Global) July 21 -- SAIC Motor and German auto giant Audi will deepen their technical cooperation in electric vehicle development, China’s biggest carmaker said at a technical sharing meeting yesterday.

Audi aims to access SAIC’s technologies for baseboard management controller system, underbody, and smart driving system for EVs through the tie-up, an insider close to the Shanghai-based firm told Yicai Global. Audi will still handle exterior and interior design work, he noted.

The collaboration will not be limited to the SAIC-Audi joint venture, established in April 2021 to produce cars such as the Audi A7L and Q5 e-tron for the Chinese market, but will be at the group level, according to the insider.

Audi will be able to make up for its technical shortcomings in car electrification and intelligence in the short term thanks to the partnership, industry sources said, adding that it will make full use of China’s research and development costs and supply chain advantages to create price-competitive EVs.

Audi’s electrification shift is slow and it is not competitive in pure electric products, Oliver Blume, chief executive of its parent company, Volkswagen Group, said recently. Audi postponed plans to launch new EV models due to serious software issues, he noted.

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.

Audi is in talks with SAIC about its Zhiji Auto’s EV platform, and negotiations are at a relatively advanced stage, Reuters said on July 12, citing people familiar with the matter. Later the same day, sources told The Paper that the talks also include EV architecture and components such as batteries, engines, electric controls, lower body, and smart driving system.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev