Audi, FAW to kick off EV plant in China

German premium carmaker Audi and China's FAW are to kick off an electric vehicle plant in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin province.

Construction on the plant, with an investment of 20.9 billion yuan ($3.3 billion), will start in April this year, according to a Jilin government document.

The plant, with a designed production capacity of 150,000 units a year, will be ready by 2024, said Audi.

Audi said three models are now planned to be produced at the plant and the first two of them will be an SUV and a sedan.

Vehicles will be built on an electric car platform called PPE co-developed by Audi and Porsche.

The EV plant belongs to Audi FAW NEV Company, in which Audi holds a 55 percent stake. It is the first Chinese joint venture in which the German carmaker has a majority stake.

"The Audi FAW NEV Company will play a central role in our electrification strategy in China," said Audi AG CEO Markus Duesmann.

"We are excited to have achieved another important milestone in the realization of this project along with our partner FAW," he said.

Audi has been producing vehicles with FAW for decades. It has a joint venture with SAIC, China's largest carmaker, to produce and sell Audi vehicles in China as well.

Audi sold 701,289 vehicles in the country last year, down 3.6 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from the China Passenger Car Association.