SAIC Volkswagen is getting ready to fight head-to-head with the new players.

```

Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

In the just concluded year of 2025, China's auto market went through a fierce reshuffling. New forces, joint ventures, and the BBAs have all experienced ups and downs and had their moments, leading to faster and more frequent industry changes.

With domestic brands accelerating their offensive, surviving has become the most crucial thing for joint venture brands besieged on all sides. In this tough environment, SAIC Volkswagen answered the doubts with its record: cumulative terminal sales of 1.06 million units in 2025, stabilizing its foundation and retaining membership in the "million club."

This joint venture giant has initially completed its bottoming out, but the coming market will be even more frenzied, and it has prepared a series of moves in response.

Fu Qiang, Executive Deputy General Manager of Sales and Marketing at SAIC Volkswagen, told Wallstreetcn, "In 2026 we will officially launch a strategic counteroffensive, centered around a brand-new new-energy product lineup named ID. ERA. Meanwhile, the SAIC Audi brand will focus its efforts. In 2026, SAIC Volkswagen will launch seven new-energy models."

"Starting from March, we will enter a period of intensive new product releases, essentially launching one heavyweight product each quarter and having new products on the market every month." According to Fu Qiang, this means SAIC Volkswagen is ready to go head-to-head with the new forces in 2026.

Stabilizing the Foundation

Last year can be called the bottoming out year for SAIC Volkswagen.

Against the backdrop of a shrinking fuel vehicle market, SAIC Volkswagen’s fuel car market share didn’t decline but rose to 8.3%. Full-year terminal sales reached 1.06 million units, which is not easy given the declining trend of fuel vehicles.

Breaking down the sales structure shows that what supports SAIC Volkswagen are the products familiar to consumers: Passat, Lavida, Tiguan—despite the rise of domestic NEVs and price wars among joint ventures in 2025, each still maintains monthly sales of about 20,000 units. On the other hand, SAIC Audi's annual sales were 47,000 units. Although not achieving the expected scale, its 23% year-on-year growth outpaced the market.

Volkswagen still retains the top spot in China among foreign auto brands. SAIC Group also hopes to reclaim the title of China’s top-listed auto group by sales this year. To do this, SAIC Volkswagen needs to specifically analyze last year's strengths and weaknesses and focus its efforts.

In fact, nearly all joint venture brands in China have to face the predicament of fuel vehicles dominating their business. This may be due to low industry sensitivity or a dependence on old patterns. Balancing the huge scale of fuel vehicle operations with the need for NEV transformation is undoubtedly a challenge.

Last year, SAIC Volkswagen’s NEV sales were still dominated by the ID. series. But apart from the Volkswagen ID.3, which reliably contributed over 3,000 units monthly, other models did not meet expectations and accounted for a relatively small portion of overall SAIC Volkswagen sales.

This was SAIC Volkswagen’s core challenge last year—urgent need for transformation, but the main force is still fuel vehicles. Rashly going "all-in" on EVs by abandoning fuel vehicles is unrealistic. Rather than blindly chasing the NEV proportion, SAIC Volkswagen urgently needs a clear product plan and future direction.

Industry insiders believe the most rational decision is to adopt a dual-track strategy: tap fuel car potential while boosting NEVs.

Last year, SAIC Volkswagen's core strategy was parallel development of fuel and electric vehicles and integrated intelligence. "We will continue to invest in fuel vehicles, leveraging our advantage to strengthen the first curve, while NEVs must form a solid second curve," said Tao Hailong, GM of SAIC Volkswagen, to Wallstreetcn.

A year ago, from the Teramont Pro to Passat Pro, Tiguan L Pro, Lavida Pro, SAIC Volkswagen used smart technology to attract fuel vehicle users seeking intelligent upgrades. Market feedback shows the Pro family had explosive sales in 2025, with Teramont Pro alone making up more than a third of the series. This proves users abandoned unintelligent fuel cars, not fuel cars themselves.

However, judging by industry trends, China’s full shift to NEVs is unstoppable. Stabilizing the fuel vehicle base ultimately serves as an energy reserve for the EV rollout.

Stabilizing sales of fuel vehicles ensures cash flow and brand strength, providing SAIC Volkswagen with the strongest backing for a full-scale offensive in NEVs. The next phase will rely on NEV models with core competitiveness to reclaim lost ground in the market.

Turning Defense into Offense

In 2026, SAIC Volkswagen’s stance has fundamentally changed. If previously it was “following,” now its key word this year is: counterattack.

The arsenal for this counteroffensive is already full. In 2026, SAIC Volkswagen will launch seven NEV models, covering all technical routes—pure electric, hybrid, range-extended—thoroughly addressing shortcomings.

The most eye-catching is the new NEV lineup, ID. ERA. Fu Qiang told Wallstreetcn, "The ERA lineup is entirely created from the ground up for the Chinese market."

ERA’s debut is a flagship; it is understood that the ID. ERA 9X is a range-extended vehicle, with a comprehensive range likely exceeding 1,000 kilometers, directly competing with popular models like AITO M9, Li Auto L9, Lynk & Co 900, Zeekr 9X, etc.

Not only is this a flagship SUV, but it also embodies SAIC Volkswagen's ambition on the range extension track. With Li Auto and AITO thriving through range-extenders, SAIC Volkswagen is no longer stubbornly pushing only BEVs but pragmatically embracing market demand. The arrival of ID. ERA means Volkswagen must combine German technology with Chinese speed and definitions.

For SAIC Volkswagen, the success or failure of the ID. ERA 9X will decide the success of the JV 2.0 model. Beyond the ID. ERA series, SAIC Volkswagen’s other major NEV endeavor comes from the AUDI brand.

As the result of deepening cooperation between SAIC and Audi, the all-AUDI brand is another ace for 2026. The first model, AUDI E5 Sportback, will directly enter the luxury pure electric coupe market, and the following SUV, E7X, will further expand Audi’s luxury tech offerings.

According to SAIC Volkswagen’s official plan, it will launch seven brand-new NEV models in 2026, covering pure electric, hybrid, and range-extended powertrains. Fu Qiang stated: "Starting from March 2026, SAIC Volkswagen will enter a period of intensive new product launches, basically one heavyweight product per quarter and new product launches every month."

But the process inertia of joint ventures, the long cycle of brand perception reconstruction, and the fierce competition in NEVs mean the transformation won't happen overnight.

Tao Hailong said bluntly, “There are fundamental differences between joint ventures and new forces, especially those represented by Huawei. What outsiders may not know is, for joint ventures to break the traditional technology-import model and switch from JV1.0 to JV2.0 era, the transformation is extremely difficult.”

In his view, success in transformation for SAIC Volkswagen is not only determined by product launches, but more crucially, whether the corporate system, culture, and philosophy can adapt to the requirements of the new auto era. As such, SAIC Volkswagen has launched a series of organizational changes, introducing Huawei’s GTM structure into its marketing team, and fully implementing IPD and IPMS processes.

For a traditional JV carmaker, this is nothing short of a “blood transfusion.”

Revolution Accelerates

In the traditional JV carmaker model, R&D, production, and sales are typically separate “silo” structures—Wolfsburg defines products, Chinese factories manufacture, and the sales company sells cars. This model worked efficiently when the market favored sellers, but it is too slow for the rapidly changing intelligent EV era.

Tao Hailong believes that surviving and staying at the table in China is vital, and the upcoming 3 to 5 years are extremely critical. Each product’s positioning, target, etc., must be managed through a coordinated “combination punch” strategy.

Introducing IPD process means SAIC Volkswagen will break down departmental walls and achieve customer-oriented R&D. Product definition is no longer behind closed doors, but based on keen insights into the Chinese market. Each car project team will become a standalone “combat unit,” responsible for market outcomes.

Introducing GTM process implies marketing comes first. While the product is still on the drawing board, decisions about how to sell it, whom to sell it to, and its core selling points are already made. This will greatly shorten the cycle from SOP (mass production) to market launch, so “launch means delivery, delivery means scaling up.”

SAIC Volkswagen’s GM Tao Hailong and predecessor Jia Jianxu are typical “action-takers.” They know to compete with new forces, having good products is not enough; fast decision-making and execution are essential. Learning from Huawei is about teaching this elephant to dance, or even to sprint.

The 2026 Chinese auto market is destined to be a fiercer knockout competition.

For SAIC Volkswagen, this is not only a battle for sales, but also for business models. It is attempting to blaze a trail never seen before: maintaining German quality and manufacturing depth while attaining flexibility and intelligence comparable to new forces through comprehensive localization and organizational transformation.

If the success of the ID.3 was just SAIC Volkswagen dipping its toes into the NEV waters, then the twin offensives of ID. ERA and the AUDI brand in 2026, combined with Huawei-style organizational restructuring, is its main armada opening fire.

Once, people doubted whether an elephant could turn around. Now, SAIC Volkswagen is trying to iterate itself in the fever pitch of industry reshuffling, aiming to keep its seat at the table.

Risk Warning and DisclaimerThe market has risks, investment needs caution. This article does not constitute individual investment advice, nor does it consider the special investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of any particular user. Users should consider whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article fit their particular circumstances. Invest accordingly at your own risk. ```