Audi-SAIC Joint Venture Shakes Up Leadership: Fred Schulze Replaces Song Feiming as CEO; Hu Yin Takes Over from Ni Sheng as Head of SAIC Audi Division

Effective July 1, 2026, Fermin Soneira (Song Feiming), CEO of the Audi-SAIC joint venture project, will step down to assume the role of Chief Technology Officer at Lamborghini. He will be succeeded by Fred Schulze, currently a member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG. Concurrently, leadership of SAIC Audi’s business division has also changed hands, with Hu Yin replacing Ni Sheng. Soneira joined Audi in 1998, initially working in chassis development, and boasts nearly three decades of professional experience. He took charge of Audi’s new collaboration project with SAIC in March 2024 and spearheaded several key milestones: in November 2024, the two companies jointly launched the new premium intelligent EV brand “AUDI”; in September 2025, the first production model, the Audi E5 Sportback, went on sale, amassing over 10,000 orders within 30 minutes; and by April 2026, cumulative sales surpassed 10,000 units, leading to the signing of an enhanced cooperation agreement and the establishment of the “Audi Innovation Technology Center.” His successor, Fred Schulze, served as Executive Vice General Manager for Technology at SAIC Volkswagen from 2018 to 2021, overseeing manufacturing, logistics, and product management, and played a pivotal role in the localization operations of the joint venture.