First Audi without the four-ring logo is a sleek sportback EV that accelerates 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds

Audi just launched a new brand in China, and it is trying to set it so far apart from the rest of its roster that it doesn't even carry the storied logo with the four locked rings.

Called simply Audi written in a trendy font, the new brand of the premium vehicle maker will be solely dedicated to making "intelligent" electric cars with smart infotainment and driver-assist systems.

The new maker will be partnering with the Chinese juggernaut SAIC for the local market, and even showcased the brand's first concept car called the AUDI E, an electric sportback that "drives like a real Audi in terms of comfort as well as dynamics."

The cars in the new Audi brand without the four-ring logo will be built on an Advanced Digitized Platform developed together with SAIC. It sports a modern 800V powertrain that can add more than 200 miles of range to the sportback's 100 kWh battery in 10 minutes.

Despite its largish footprint, the AUDI E concept is designed to accelerate from 0-60mph in just 3.6 seconds, propelled by Audi's iconic "quattro" AWD system with the help of two electric motors that cumulatively deliver more than 760HP.

"By launching this new brand for electric and intelligent models in China, Audi is breaking new ground to tap into new and more tech-savvy customer segments," said Audi's CEO during the launch event.

Besides the AUDI E concept that will reportedly cost the equivalent of around $42,000 when it launches in August, the new brand will start off with two more electric vehicles in the mid- and full-size segments. Audi's parent company VW has been struggling with its EV pivot, delivering less than convincing models with middling software just when the EV market took a nosedive in the West.

In China, however, EV sales are booming, and Audi would like a piece of the pie even though it is closing EV factories and letting staff go in Europe. Cue the fresh new branding effort that eschews the four iconic rings for the sake of a clean lettered logo that Audi says "signals both the connection to and differentiation from the sister brand."

Get the Lectron Tesla Supercharger NACS to CCS adapter on Amazon