Launching a brand-new EV in China under a fresh badge with no Audi rings in sight might have seemed like an odd gamble at the time. But with the E5 Sportback now crowned China Car of the Year, Audi’s unconventional move is starting to look like a smart one. The car, developed in partnership with SAIC, is the first product of a standalone brand created specifically for the Chinese market.

While the China Car of the Year awards don’t carry quite the same global weight as the World Car Awards, they’re still judged by a panel that includes automotive journalists and industry insiders. And since the awards launched in 2014, Western brands have consistently punched above their weight.

Read: Of Course, The New AUDI E5 EV Is Ridiculously Cheap In China

Audi, or rather in this case, AUDI, began production of the E5 Sportback in August last year, with the first deliveries following just a month later. It enters a crowded but fast-moving EV space, where pricing pressure and tech innovation come at breakneck speed. Like many of its peers, the E5 Sportback offers strong value, a factor that’s undoubtedly helped fuel interest.

The EV, combining German engineering and quality with Chinese tech, is available in four different configurations. Prices range from 235,900 yuan (about $33,800) to 319,900 yuan (roughly $45,800) for the range-topping Flagship Quattro. That top-tier model features dual motors delivering 776 hp, a 100 kWh battery, and an estimated range of 402 miles (647 km) on a single charge.

Spurred on by the success of the sleek estate, Audi presented its new E SUV Concept at November’s Guangzhou Auto Show. This model has a similar design to the Sportback and will be launched later this year as the E7X.

The Other Winners

Of course, the E5 Sportback wasn’t the only car to earn recognition. Other winners included the Nio ET9, named Luxury Car of the Year, the iCAR V23 as Budget Car of the Year, the Ferrari 296 Speciale for Performance Car of the Year, and Audi’s own A5L, which took home Design Car of the Year.

Last year, the overall title went to the Aito M9, a flagship electric SUV. Other award recipients included the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the Geely Galaxy E5, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, and Volkswagen’s ID.UNYX. In recent years, premium European brands have maintained a strong showing. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class won in 2022, followed by the EQE in 2023, and the BMW i7 in 2024.

Some of Audi’s recent designs have sparked a bit of a debate, with a few clear wins and a few that miss by a mile. The new A6 Avant, for instance, looks handsome and well-proportioned, while the Q4 e-tron feels like it was designed by committee after the coffee ran out.

Read: Of Course, The New AUDI E5 EV Is Ridiculously Cheap In China

That’s why it might be worth Audi’s European design team taking a closer look at what their counterparts in China have accomplished with the all-electric E5 Sportback. The model shows how Ingolstadt could refresh its global EV aesthetics, blending familiar Audi precision with an edgier presence.

Every version of the E5 Sportback shares the same overall silhouette, but with the right enhancements, there’s plenty of room for visual drama.

Sugar Design/Instagram

These renderings from Sugar Design depict it in widebody guise inspired by the RS6 Avant and it looks absolutely brilliant. Who said EVs need to look bland and boring?

Immediately, the E5 looks a lot more menacing with the blacked-out front fascia, which is ordinarily painted to match the rest of the body on the standard model. By adding black color, the intricate LEDs running around the fascia are more visible.

Additionally, lowering the car and installing a sharp new splitter makes the car look a whole lot more aggressive. The RS badge is a nice touch, too.

Sugar Design/Instagram

Just like a proper RS model, the E5 Sportback has also been imagined with flared wheel arches at the front and rear. It also sits on oversized wheels and, as with the standard model, has a contrasting gloss-black roof.

Completing the stylistic changes is a new blacked-out rear fascia that, like the front, has a transformative effect on the car’s overall design.

For now, we’re not getting our hopes up that Audi will bring some of the E5’s key design elements into global markets. Still, considering how quickly the model has gained traction there, borrowing a few of its visual ideas might not be such a bad move for the global lineup.