Nearly a month after the marketing controversy sparked by SAIC Audi's "AUDI full range, buy one get one free" campaign, substantive progress has been made.

On November 4, "SAIC Audi buy one get one free under investigation" trended on Weibo.

The previous evening, media reported that the Jiading District Market Supervision Administration in Shanghai confirmed in a text message replying to the complainant that it had filed a case against the reported party, Shanghai SAIC Volkswagen Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., regarding the "AUDI full range, buy one get one free" complaint, and has now formally intervened in the investigation.

From a Social Media Post to a Filed Case

The incident originated on the evening of October 11, 2026.

Zheng Qinwen won the China Open women's singles final, becoming the first local women's singles champion at the tournament. As the only automotive brand among Zheng Qinwen's partners, SAIC Audi's official account posted a message that evening titled "Congratulations to Qinwen on Winning the Championship! AUDI Full Range, Buy One Get One Free," which drew public attention. However, upon clicking into the post, consumers discovered that the so-called "buy one get one free" gift was a 1:18 scale car model worth less than 1,000 yuan, not another full vehicle.

After the facts came to light, SAIC Audi's marketing move immediately drew widespread criticism from netizens and public opinion, accusing SAIC Audi of turning "buy one get one free" into a word game. After media followed up with reports on the incident, the matter was also reported to the Shanghai consumer hotline. At the time, the Shanghai consumer hotline told media that the situation had been registered and would be transferred to the relevant departments of the Market Supervision Administration for verification.

After public backlash escalated, SAIC Audi quickly revised the corresponding wording in the post, but this did not dispel doubts about SAIC Audi's marketing approach. On October 19, SAIC Audi issued a further statement through media: "Everyone has misunderstood this campaign. For scenarios where misunderstandings arose, we optimized the text on the promotional poster at the earliest opportunity."

The revision and explanation did not put the controversy to rest. The Jiading District Market Supervision Administration's filing of the case became the administrative landing point of the marketing controversy from a month earlier.

The core legal dispute lies in Article 8, Paragraph 2 of the Advertising Law: if an advertisement indicates that the promoted goods or services come with gifts, the variety, specifications, quantity, duration, and method of the accompanying gifts shall be clearly stated.

Previously, lawyers analyzed that the problem with SAIC Audi's post was not whether it stated that the gift was a car model, but "where it was written, in what font size, and whether it was sufficient for consumers to accurately understand before making a decision." The headline used the largest font to convey the expectation of an equivalent gift under "buy one get one free," while the body text noted "car model" in a corner using a different font and smaller size, creating tension with the legislative purpose of the "clear statement obligation."

It should be noted that the case filing is merely the initiation of administrative procedures and does not equal a determination of illegality against SAIC Audi, nor does it equal a penalty. The final conclusion shall be based on the investigation and determination by the market supervision authorities in accordance with the law.

Behind the Misstep: Insufficient Brand Awareness and Sales

How did a buzz marketing campaign leveraging a championship moment end up being reported and filed as a case? The industry generally attributes it to one point: SAIC Audi was eager to break out of its niche.

Zheng Qinwen's championship had breakout-level attention. For a new brand still climbing in recognition, leveraging a sports hot topic is the least effort-intensive channel to break out; and the strong stimulus phrasing of "full range, buy one get one free" also stemmed from SAIC Audi and its "AUDI" brand's prolonged failure to break out. Whether in brand awareness or sales performance, the "AUDI" brand, as one of the core layouts of Audi's China strategy, has yet to emerge from its predicament.

SAIC Audi officially began operations in the Chinese market in 2021, more than five years ago, and the "AUDI" brand, as the sub-brand launched by SAIC Audi in 2024 focused on electrification transformation, has been around for more than two years.

A detail at the awareness level is telling: after the incident escalated, some consumers still mistook the campaign as the work of FAW Audi, even prompting FAW Audi to distance itself, stating that the two are different entities and the campaign was a unilateral action by SAIC Audi. A brand that has operated for five years and had its independent letter logo for two years still being confused at the consumer level—this speaks more directly than any official statement that AUDI and even SAIC Audi still lack recognition in the domestic market.

The sales side is also under pressure. The AUDI brand's first vehicle, the E5 Sportback, launched in September 2025. Although it went through a ramp-up period, it never established a stable monthly sales scale. The second vehicle, the E7X, delivered 4,017 units in its first month on the market and was once seen as a new volume driver, but this start did not continue—falling to 3,007 units in July, 1,808 in August, and only 1,503 in September, a decline of over 60% in three months.

Both vehicles started strong but ended weak, which is the most direct footnote to "still not out of the predicament." As both products face pressure to break through, this means SAIC Audi has yet to truly open up the situation since beginning operations in China in 2021.

While SAIC Audi is under pressure, Audi's overall presence in China is also contracting. In the third quarter of 2026, Audi delivered approximately 94,600 vehicles in China, down 24.5% year-on-year. In the first half of the year, operating profit from the China business fell from 279 million euros in the same period last year to 73 million euros, a shrinkage of about 70%. Audi insiders predict that Audi's sales in China in 2026 may be only slightly above 420,000 vehicles, a decrease of about 30% from 2025, the lowest figure since 2012.

Audi Strategic Adjustment: SAIC Audi Focuses on the "Letter" Brand

The dual pressure on AUDI in both awareness and sales, SAIC Audi's prolonged failure to break through since beginning operations in 2021, and even Audi's overall continued contraction in China—these three pressures combined have prompted Audi to make another major adjustment in the Chinese market.

On October 26, Audi signed strategic agreements with FAW Group and SAIC Group respectively: all business of the Four Rings brand is assigned to FAW Audi; SAIC Audi focuses on the AUDI (Audi letter logo) brand, concentrates on the new energy market, and is responsible for launching next-generation intelligent connected vehicles that meet the needs of Chinese consumers. The logic of the two brand systems has since been properly positioned, and the division of labor has been formally clarified at the organizational level.

Before the brand adjustment, personnel changes had already taken place.

On October 22, Audi officially announced that Zhang Jun would assume the position of President of Audi China starting November 1, the first Chinese national (some say "Singaporean national") to hold the highest position since Audi entered China. In the industry's view, his tasks include coordinating and streamlining the brand division and business synergy between FAW Audi and SAIC Audi, and driving pure electric models from completed launches to achieving stable sales scale. This means that AUDI's breakthrough in the domestic new energy market has become the top priority for Audi China under Zhang Jun's leadership.

For SAIC Audi, under the strategic separation, it has shed the historical baggage of the Four Rings logo, but has also lost the natural recognition advantage of the Four Rings logo. In fact, for many luxury car consumers in the domestic market, the Four Rings emblem remains the core symbol of Audi's brand value. The "buy one get one free" marketing debacle exposed that the AUDI brand's awareness and recognition remain a weak point.

Awareness can be gained through a single hot topic, but brand recognition must be built over a longer period. With the separation settled, AUDI's awareness challenge has only just begun.