Audi: Selling The Same Car Everywhere No Longer Works In Audi's vision, the global car is dead. THE BREAKDOWN - Audi believes regional differences have killed the global car. - Audi's spinoff brand AUDI (without the Four Rings) is exclusive to China. - Four-ringed models will continue in China. Audi was the first luxury automaker to enter China in 1988, six years before BMW and 17 years ahead of Mercedes. It didn’t take long for the trio to discover that Chinese customers prefer more spacious cars with roomier back seats. They all adapted by stretching the wheelbases of their global models for the locally manufactured versions. Since then, Western brands have launched a myriad of China-only models, including long-wheelbase SUVs. With help from SAIC, Audi has taken things to the next level by setting up a separate car brand specifically for the Chinese market. The recently founded AUDI, spelled out in capital letters and without the iconic Four Rings, sells two models in China that you can’t get anywhere else. The wagon-esque E5 Sportback led the way before the E7X SUV arrived, and a new sedan is also on the way. Why is Audi going through this much trouble? Simple: it believes the era of the global car has come to an end. The days when a one-size-fits-all formula worked are over, and automakers need to adapt their vehicles to suit regional preferences. As the saying goes, different strokes for different folks. In an interview with Australian magazine GoAuto, chief technical officer Rouven Mohr said there are fundamental incompatibilities between what buyers want around the world: 'I think the idea of the global car – so one car that fits the world – this is gone, to be honest, because it’s not fitting anymore in the US (and) in China.