(Yicai Global) June 29 -- A joint venture of Audi and China's state-owned FAW Group has begun work to build the German carmaker's first electric vehicle plant in China at a cost of EUR2.6 billion (USD2.75 billion).

Audi, a Volkswagen Group brand, broke ground yesterday on the new factory in the Chinese auto production hub of Changchun, Yicai Global learned. It will make the Audi Q6 E-tron and Audi A6 E-tron based on VW's Premium Platform Electric, a modular EV platform.

The 150-hectare facility, whose annual capacity is slated to be 150,000 cars, should be operational by December 2024. The joint venture is in charge of the project’s investment, construction, and operation. Volkswagen and Audi own 60 percent of the JV and Jilin province-based FAW the rest.

Audi will focus more on high-end products in the future, Jürgen Unser, president of Audi China, noted during the ceremony. The Changchun plant will first produce the all-electric crossover Audi Q6 E-tron and the sportback concept Audi A6 E-tron and customize Audi’s high-end ecosystem for the Chinese market, he added.

Ingolstadt-based Audi is eyeing a bigger share of China's growing new energy vehicle market. The marque has said it expects China's high-end auto sales to increase to about 4.5 million units by 2030 from 3.1 million units in 2020, and the share of NEVs should rise to about 40 percent from about 10 percent at present.

By 2025, Audi plans to introduce five locally-produced pure-electric models in the Chinese market. It intends to supply the global market with about 30 NEV models, including more than 20 pure-electric autos. 

Future electric Audis are likely to share the same underlying architecture. PPE is co-developed by Volkswagen brands Audi and Porsche for larger EVs, including sport sedans and sport utility vehicles.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi