Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, has partnered with SAIC to launch the new AUDI E5 Sportback electric vehicle line for the Chinese market. AUDI is the new brand name of the Audi-SAIC joint venture. Specifications for the E5 Sportback were leaked on the Chinese regulatory agency's website in 5/2025.
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The AUDI E5 Sportback launches in China, priced between 32,800 and 44,500 USD. Image: SAIC
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The E5 Sporback is a product of the collaboration between Audi and SAIC. AUDI is the new brand name for this joint venture.
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The new electric vehicle doesn't use the four-ring logo, instead featuring the new AUDI brand name.
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The E5 Sportback has a station wagon body style.
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The taillights wrap around the entire rear of the car.
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The E5 Sportback is available in China in four versions.
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The interior features a 59-inch LED screen that spans the entire dashboard and digital rearview mirrors.
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The car is equipped with the Doubao AI assistant from ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
The E5 Sportback is available in four versions, with rear-wheel drive (RWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) options, ranging in price from 32,800 to 44,500 USD. The electric vehicle is built on the ADP (Advanced Digitised Platform) with an 800V architecture, co-developed by SAIC. The joint venture claims a 10-minute charge provides a range of 370 km.
The base Pioneer RWD model features a 295-horsepower rear-mounted electric motor and a 76 kWh battery pack from the SAIC-CATL joint venture, providing a range of 618 km. The Pioneer Plus RWD model has a 402-horsepower electric motor and a 100 kWh battery pack with a range of 773 km.
The Pioneer Quattro AWD version boasts two electric motors with a combined output of 517 horsepower, coupled with an 83 kWh battery pack and a range of 623 km. The top-of-the-line Flagship Quattro AWD model delivers 776 horsepower with a 100 kWh battery pack and a range of 647 km.
The E5 Sportback is a five-door, five-seat station wagon. Its dimensions are 4,881 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,479 mm high, with a wheelbase of 2,950 mm. According to CarNewsChina, most of the E5 Sportback's components are manufactured by SAIC.
The vehicle is equipped with 27 sensors, 12 ultrasonic radars, and 11 cameras that feed data to the Momenta ADAS driver-assistance system. All of this is processed by Nvidia's Orin X chip.
A key feature of the E5 Sportback's interior is the 59-inch LED screen that stretches across the entire dashboard, powered by the AUDI Os operating system with a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. The car also features the Doubao AI assistant from ByteDance, TikTok's parent company.
In China, the AUDI E5 Sportback will compete with rivals such as the Zeekr 007 GT, Nio ET5T, and Stelato S9T. Deliveries of the E5 Sportback are scheduled to begin in September.
Minh Vu
