China's technology innovations are reshaping the auto industry and setting its pace, highlighted by rapid development and customer‑focused solutions, said Audi CEO Gernot Dollner on Friday.
Speaking to China Global Television Network (CGTN) during the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China 2026), the CEO said the company will add new tech partners to tailor products for Chinese customers alongside its long‑standing alliances.
"Our strong partners FAW and SAIC are the cornerstone of our business in China. Whatever we do here in China with our 'In China for China' strategy, we do it together with these two strong partners. And in addition to that we then bring in the leading tech companies from the Chinese ecosystem to deliver on what the market really requires. For intelligent driving we partner as you said with Chinese tech partners and you have to be innovative, you have to be safe, you have to be fast in implementing these technologies, and the most important one, you have to implement it with a strong customer focus," said Dollner.
Dollner added innovations from Chinese companies are likely to enter global markets soon, highlighting the speed of development and the need for market‑specific solutions.
"China is at the forefront of innovation and technology and it is driving the speed of the industry. We will see some technologies from China to come to the world. We will have to find market specific, regional specific solutions for the world as Audi, and the highest speed of innovation definitely is in China," he said.
This year’s event spans a record exhibition area of 380,000 square meters, making it the largest auto show worldwide by floor space. A total of 1,451 vehicles are on display, including 181 global premieres and 71 concept cars. The 10‑day event runs until May 3.
China’s tech innovations reshaping auto industry: Audi CEO
