"In the future in China, Audi will become more Chinese. The Audi urbansphere concept car is not only a concept car, but also a perfect interpretation of the core of the new strategy 'Audi China Enterprising 2030 Strategy' in China. Dr. Wen Zeyue, President of Audi China
In China, the ever-flowing, fast-paced and exciting megacities are full of enterprising young people, and the hustle and bustle and vagaries of the city deeply attract this group. However, they also yearn for a place to live, to enjoy quiet and leisurely time, and to connect with themselves and others. This time, the Fourth Ring Brand joined hands with Chinese urban elites to meet their wishes and jointly created the Audi urban concept car, showing a beautiful vision of high-end urban travel in the future.
On April 19, 2022, the Audi Enterprising Ceremony and the SPHERE Ceremony were held online, attracting the world's attention. During this period, the Audi urbansphere concept car made a blockbuster appearance and made its world debut. This is the first time that the Sihuan brand has adopted the "innovation and co-creation" design process to create a model, which combines the in-depth insights of China's enterprising people with the creativity and expertise of Audi engineers and designers. The Audi China design team in Beijing played a crucial role in the design of the model.
Co-creation with Chinese customers
China is Audi's largest single market in the world and a bellwether for future global mobility trends. In areas of innovation such as smart connectivity, electrification and autonomous driving, China has been at the forefront of the world. Here, there is also a group of discerning customers. For Audi, the design of the final concept car that gave birth to the "sphere trilogy" in China could not be more appropriate.
"For us, designing the Audi urbansphere concept car was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a success for the cross-border cooperation between China and Germany. Not only did we design a new car from the inside out, but more importantly, for the first time, we invited Chinese customers to participate in the design process. The result is stunning: the interior space is a place to relax, and the timeless luxury lounge design is full of Zen," said Stephan Fahr-Becker, Audi China's design leader, at the Audi SPHERE ceremony, "they will be pleasantly surprised to find that what was once in mind has become a reality in the Audi urbansphere concept car." In the future, similar co-creation concepts will become the norm, not only for concept cars, but also for production cars. Because listening to customers and creating user-centric products has always been at the heart of Audi's product development. ”
In in-depth exchanges with Chinese customers, Audi observed that Chinese consumers' perceptions of the future of high-end mobility have changed. Their expectation of a high-quality luxury travel experience is a release of space that was no longer met by traditional configurations that used to accommodate as many seats, storage space and functional elements as possible. Instead, they wanted to have a space that was spacious enough and made the sense of comfort a unique feature. Because in addition to physical space, they are also looking for a spiritual space that can slow themselves down in the busy urban life.
"The cities of the future are people-centred. Living in a high-density community, people will be more eager to live in a private space. The car is not just a travel product, but a living product. The car becomes an extension of human life. Running away in a private space is the greatest possibility for the car to bring people. Audi offers solutions that align with the people-centred urban development of the future. Ma Qingyun, an internationally renowned architect responsible for designing Plaza 66 in Shanghai and SOHO on Beijing Guanghua Road, said at the Audi SPHERE ceremony.
"Being able to enhance the user experience, especially the sense of luxury and private space, is what we as interior designers pay the most attention to." Wu Yunzhou, head of interior design at Audi China, who worked at Audi headquarters for seven years at Ingolstadt and has now returned to China for four years, said: "It is a great goal to be able to completely relax passengers in the car and temporarily withdraw from the outside world." In this regard, the traditional Chinese courtyard architecture has given us design inspiration, which has a great influence on our sense of space shaping, shape and choice of color materials. You can see the modern interpretation of Chinese aesthetics on this car. ”
Based on this philosophy, the Audi urbansphere concept is Audi's largest model to date and has become a luxurious, Zen-like private space that can accommodate six passengers: not only a mobile resting place, but also a third space that extends beyond personal life, giving customers a freer, more comfortable and more private travel experience.
Digitalization is another feature of the Audi urbansphere concept car. "Chinese consumers are enthusiasts of digital technology and are open to advanced technology. Smartphones are an indispensable companion to life. They prefer touch screens, ultra-clear images, user-friendly operation, smooth networking, and exclusive in-car Wi-Fi. "Therefore, in terms of interior, in addition to the driving experience and personalized configuration, intelligent interconnection plays an increasingly important role." "In L4 autonomous driving mode, the steering wheel and pedals of the Audi urbansphere concept car can be hidden, and the interior of the car will be transformed into a mobile interactive experience space. By seamlessly connecting to the full digital ecosystem, the car is no longer just a mobility tool, but has evolved into a terminal for digital experiences.
Increase local research and development efforts: Audi will be more Chinese
The Audi urbansphere concept car, which focuses on meeting the unique needs of Chinese customers, highlights that the Sihuan brand is increasing its research and development efforts in China.
Dr. Wen Zeyue, President of Audi China, said: "We are deeply rooted in the Chinese market and take it as our mission to serve Chinese customers at the forefront of the enterprising frontier. In the future in China, Audi will become more Chinese. Just as the Audi urbansphere concept car shows Audi's vision of high-end travel in Chinese cities in the future, it is not only a concept car, but also a perfect interpretation of the core of our new 'Audi China Enterprising 2030 Strategy'. ”
"The Audi urbansphere concept car is the first concept model to have the interior design independently designed by the Audi China design team. I believe that there is still a lot to learn from the Chinese market and is expected to be promoted to other markets. In the future, we will do our best to make more Chinese designs appear on the Global Stage of Audi. Wu Yunzhou said.
Audi China R&D Center is currently Audi's largest R&D entity with end-to-end development capabilities outside of its headquarters in Germany. The Audi urbansphere concept car is an excellent example, which not only reflects that Audi China is continuously strengthening its local research and development capabilities and actively developing cars, products and technologies for the Chinese market, but also is expanding its territory and influencing the world in the field of high-end mobility innovation in the future. From customer insights, market trends, to technological breakthroughs in the Chinese market, the impact on Audi product research and development is becoming increasingly prominent.
"I firmly believe that audi's products that meet the Needs of the Chinese market will be favored around the world." This is the inexhaustible driving force that drives us forward. Stephan Fahr-Becker, head of design at Audi China, said.