North American International Auto Show features latest car models (Photo : Getty Images)
Audi joins the trend with Chinese company FAW Group in catering to the increasing demand for electric cars in China.
China is the investment hub in Asia when it comes to electric cars as a likely consequence of the government's stricter rules in emission.
German automaker joins in the competition other first-class manufacturers BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Volkswagen, another German brand, is under pressure in shifting its product to environment-friendly, especially as the Chinese government deters the use of cars powered by fossil fuels.
The latest reform in emission rules has been implemented as a measure to combat China's air pollution problems, which, according to a report from Bloomberg, quoting a related study, have caused 4,000 deaths daily.
China has alarming levels of PM2.5, a known hazardous particle, which reportedly can cause lung cancer, heart disease and asthma, among others.
As China admitted its local car manufacturers have issues in manufacturing high-quality electric cars, it encourages local companies to pair up with foreign counterparts and learn from them.
In the latest venture between local FAW and Audi as reported by Reuters, it was said that the companies agreed to manufacture five electric autos in a span of five years.
Audi also seeks to build in China an "A6 L e-tron plug-in hybrid" this year, aside from importing its Q7 e-tron model into China. Future models of electric auto to reportedly would feature cars powered solely by batteries.
In 2016, it has already begun importing its A3 e-tron into China. Also last year, Audi has made around 1.87 million deliveries of its A3 e-tron models into China.
"We are starting the next phase of our joint growth path in China," Dietmar Voggenreiter, Audi's sales chief, said. "More than ever, our partnership is focusing on profitable, sustainable growth."
American car manufacturer Tesla has made China its primary market in electric autos since 2014.
