German car enthusiasts praise Audi’s latest electric sports car for its low price and Bavarian reliability.
But there’s a problem: It’s not made in Germany, and you can’t buy it there.
The E5 Sportback is one of a growing number of Audi models made in China and sold only in the Chinese market.
Audi is one of Germany’s best-known brands with its “Vorsprung durch Technik” slogan. But the E5 Sportback’s rave reviews have prompted German fans to ask why they were denied the car.
A Top Gear-style YouTube video of the electric vehicle (EV) sold only in China has racked up 1 million views and nearly 6,000 comments about its superiority to the German-made model.
“What a great car, even though there are only 500 of them [horsepower]the build quality, design, interior and technology at the price – unbelievable! ” said one comment under the video.
“It looks great. Even though it’s not designed for Germany and Europe, I like it better than many other cars,” said another.
Viewers of the video, produced by Dortmund-based bespoke carmaker JP Performance, were shocked at the bargain price in China – just €40,000 (£35,000).
Host Jean Pierre Kraemer said it costs half as much as similar models in Germany.
The cars used by JP Performance arrive in Germany through Auto China, a Munich dealer specializing in high-end electric cars from China.
China Automobile managing director Marcel Florian told The Telegraph he saw it at this year’s Shanghai auto show and was fascinated.
“When it came on the market, we immediately bought one. We had no buyers at the time – we shipped it because we thought it would be good to show it to the Germans at home,” he said.
Florian said he has received more sales inquiries since Kramer posted the video. He sold the E5 Sportback to a buyer who didn’t need service, warranty or even a license plate. But if the sales of this model of China Motors are even in double digits, “we have to deal with these problems.”
Technically, the car can be purchased in China and imported to Germany. However, this is mainly out of reach for most Germans as the vehicle may not meet EU standards.
Matthias Schmidt, founder of Schmidt Automotive Research, said such an attempt would be almost unfeasible.
“There is no way this model will meet European type approval requirements without extensive modifications,” he said.
“Automakers actually have to make changes to cybersecurity and use different processors and completely different software. China has actually decoupled now.”
