Filling all 1.5 million-square-metres of the enormous Shanghai exhibition centre, Auto Shanghai has made a welcome return to the world stage again in 2023 after a four year absence due to the rigours of COVID.

The oldest and most significant automotive exhibition in what is the world’s largest automotive market, Auto Shanghai, or the  Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition as it is officially known, has been in existence since 1985 and attracts manufacturers from around the globe as well as the many players from the Chinese domestic market. 

Audi has long enjoyed a significant presence in the Chinese market, with strong local partnerships in the Middle Kingdom as well as the celebrated design facility in Beijing. This facility was instrumental in the development of the urbansphere concept as well as working collaboratively with Audi’s other design centres around the world on a number of significant Audi design projects.

A motorshow to rival the likes of Frankfurt, Detroit and Tokyo, Auto Shanghai is an opportunity to showcase the very latest from the Audi brand and to that end, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann was joined on stage by the brand’s Formula 1 car as the perfect illustration of where Audi is heading in the future.

“Motorsport is an integral part of our DNA,” said Markus Duesmann, at opening of the Audi stand at Auto Shanghai. “We are convinced that our Formula 1 commitment will strengthen Audi’s sporting focus. The racing series is continuously increasing its global reach, especially among young target groups and in our most important sales market – China.” 

The car’s appearance in China was all the more significant given the fact that the Chinese Grand Prix was postponed for the fourth consecutive year because of the pandemic, the Audi F1 car affording Chinese Formula 1 fans the chance to see the car up close in the countdown to Audi’s debut in the top tier of world motorsport.

Taking centre stage at the exhibition Audi is operating with local partners First Automotive Works (FAW) and SAIC Motor, the Formula 1 car first unveiled to the world last year is joined by the Audi A6 e-torn Avant concept and the Audi urbansphere concept – the first time any of these vehicles have been publicly shown in China.

While motorsport is very much at the heart of the Audi brand, so too is the need for sustainability going forward, with the Formula 1 project offering a look at how Audi will bring these two areas together.

The new regulations for Formula 1, which will apply from 2026, focus on greater electrification, the electric drivetrain (MGU-K) will then have almost as much power as the combustion engine. The highly efficient 1.6-litre turbocharged engines will also be powered by sustainable synthetic fuel, meaning that Formula 1 will serve as a technology driver for both electromobility and sustainable e-fuels. In addition, Formula 1 has set itself the goal of being carbon neutral1 as a racing series by 2030.

At Audi, more than 260 specialists are already on board with the core of the development team made up of experienced Audi Sport and Audi employees with many years of diverse expertise in electric motorsport. They are joined by specialists with Formula 1 expertise who have been sourced externally and will strengthen the team in a targeted manner. By the end of the year, the hiring of staff should be completed and the team will be more than 300 strong.

“The Audi Formula 1 project has really taken off in recent months,” says Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG.

“We attach great importance to detail work, for example on materials or manufacturing technologies, and we also focus on topics such as the energy management of the hybrid drivetrain. After all, efficiency is a key success factor for Formula 1 and the mobility of the future, these approaches will advance both worlds,” says Hoffmann.