Audi AG

Audi is a manufacturer of exquisite cars – attractive, sophisticated and technically perfect. Company success stems from creativity, commitment and enthusiasm. The wishes and emotions of Audi customers are the guiding principle behind Audi approach. Audi strive to lead the way with company innovations, and to set new standards which substantiate company brand claim of "Vorsprung durch Technik", meaning "Advantage through Technology" . The Audi AG is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1904, Zwickau, Germany by August Horch. 99 % of the issued capital of Audi AG is held by Volkswagen AG.

History in brief

Audi’s history is one of the most multifaceted stories ever told in the history of the automobile. The Audi emblem with its four rings signifies one of Germany’s oldest automobile manufacturers. It symbolises the amalgamation in 1932 of four formerly independent motor-vehicle manufacturers: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. These companies formed the roots of what is today AUDI AG.

On 14 November 1899, August Horch (1868 - 1951) established the company A. Horch & Cie. in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne. Here he developed his first car, which was completed at the beginning of 1901. The company moved to Reichenbach in Saxony in March 1902 and converted to a share-issuing company two years later, which involved a further change in location. On 10 May 1904, A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagen-Werke AG was established in Zwickau.

Right-hand drive originated from the age of the horse and carriage, when the coachman sat on the right-hand side. In September 1921 Audi became the first German car manufacturer to present a production car with left-hand drive, the Audi Type K. By giving the driver a better view of oncoming traffic, consequently making overtaking manoeuvres in particular safer, left-hand drive became established by the end of the 1920s.

In August 1928 J. S. Rasmussen acquired the majority of shares in Audiwerke AG. He had the DKW small car with front-wheel drive produced in large numbers at this company in Zwickau from 1931. This car also had a wooden body covered in imitation leather and the typical DKW two-stroke engine. This design formed the basis for one of the most successful German small cars of the 1930s, over 250,000 of which left the Zwickau plant up to 1942.

On the orders of the Soviet military administration in Germany, the Saxon plants of Auto Union were dismantled in 1945 as reparations. Following this, the company’s entire assets were expropriated without compensation. On 17 August 1948 Auto Union AG of Chemnitz was deleted from the commercial register.

The open-top two-seater on the NSU stand at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show was a sensation. Known as the Wankel Spider, this small two-seater had a single-rotor rotary piston engine at the rear. NSU had been working together with Felix Wankel on a new engine concept since the beginning of the 1950s: instead of a reciprocating piston, a rotor compressed the fuel/air mixture (rotary piston engine).

In March 1980, a four-wheel drive sports coupé caused a genuine sensation on the Audi stand at the Geneva Motor Show. The Audi quattro was the first high-performance vehicle with four-wheel drive. This drive concept had previously only been used on trucks and off-road vehicles. The permanent four-wheel drive system in the Audi quattro enjoyed worldwide success in motor sport and gradually found its way into the entire Audi model range.

When production of the Ro 80 was discontinued in 1977, the use of the name NSU as a product designation also came to an end. With effect from 1 January 1985, Audi NSU Auto Union AG was renamed AUDI AG. At the same time the company moved its head office from Neckarsulm to Ingolstadt. From this time on, products and the company had the same name.

In autumn 1986, AUDI AG presented the third generation of the Audi 80, known internally as the B3. As with the Audi 100/200 model range the year before, the Audi 80 was now also given a fully galvanised body with a ten year warranty against rust penetration. With a drag coefficient of 0.29, the Audi 80 displayed excellent aerodynamics.

In 1988 AUDI AG ventured into the premium class for the first time with the launch of the Audi V8. This new model was fitted with a 184 kW (250 bhp) 3.6-litre eight-cylinder alloy engine. Technical details included permanent four-wheel drive, four valves per cylinder and a four-speed, electronically controlled automatic transmission.

After over 13 years in development, Audi engineers succeeded in cultivating diesel direct injection, which had previously only been used on trucks, for car diesel engines as well. In conjunction with a turbocharger, it was also possible to achieve an extremely low-loss combustion process which resulted in very economical fuel consumption. In the autumn of 1989, the Audi 100 was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show with a 2.5-litre five-cylinder TDI engine.

1991 Audi quattro Spyder and Audi Avus quattro. Audi presented two sensational sports car studies in the autumn of 1991: the Audi quattro Spyder at the Frankfurt Motor Show and the Audi Avus quattro at the Tokyo Motor Show. The consistent use of aluminium for the bodyshells of these two model studies pointed towards the future use of lightweight construction in volume production at Audi.

For some years AUDI AG had been working together with the Aluminum Company of America on the development of a lightweight aluminium production car. The result was presented at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show: the aluminium study known as the Audi Space Frame. The body used new design principles: extruded aluminium sections connected together by diecast nodes form a frame structure into which aluminium panels are integrated, where they have a load-bearing function.

In March 1994, AUDI AG presented its new model in the premium segment, the Audi A8, at the Geneva Motor Show. This was the first production model with all-aluminium body. At the same time a new naming process was introduced for the Audi models. From then on the Audi 80 was known as the A4, the Audi 100 was called the A6. They were followed in 1996 by the Audi A3, the first representative of the compact class. Production of the Audi A2, the first volume-built aluminium car, commenced in June 2000.

Investors Information

Meeting of Shareholders

On December 31, 2007 the share capital of Audi AG remained unchanged at EUR 110,080,000 and comprised 43,000,000 no-par bearer shares. Arround 99 % of the issued capital of Audi AG is held by Volkswagen AG, of Wolfsbury. April 24' 2008 – Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

Audi History Brands

Audi is one of Germany’s oldest automobile manufacturers. Since 1932 the Audi emblem has been the ‘four rings’, which stand for its amalgamation with DKW, Horch and Wanderer to form Auto Union AG in Chemnitz. It supplied the widest range of passenger vehicles that the German industry could offer in the 1930s – from motorcycles to luxury saloon cars.

- Audi Audi cars, which had been built in Zwickau since 1910, were regarded from the start as technically avant-garde midsize models. - DKW In 1907 Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen started a company in Zschopau to manufacture apparatus and fittings. - Horch Horch cars had been built in Cologne since 1900, in Reichenbach since 1902 and in Zwickau since 1904. - Wanderer The fourth ring referred to the Wanderer automobile division, which also joined the new Auto Union AG in 1932.

Since 1932, when mergered four Saxon car companies, Audi Union AG has became to use Audi brand in car models. 2007 year marked the 75th anniversary of the union. In 2007 Audi presented next models: Audi A4 Sedan, Audi A5, Audi S5, Audi TT Roadster, Audi RS 6 Avant, Audi A3 Cabriolet and Audi R8. Motorsport: Audi diesel race car, the Audi R10 TDI, achieved a repeat win in the Le Mans 24 Hours, and took the overall victory in the German Touring Car Masters (DTM).

Audi car models

- Audi A3
- Audi A3 Sportback
- Audi A3 Cabriolet
- Audi TT Coupe
- Audi TT Roadster
- Audi A4 Sedan
- Audi A4 Avant
- Audi A4 Cabriolet
- Audi RS 4 Sedan
- Audi RS 4 Avant
- Audi RS 4 Cabriolet
- Audi A5 Coupe
- Audi Q5
- Audi A6 Sedan
- Audi A6 Avant
- Audi A6 allroad quattro
- Audi RS 6
- Audi Q7
- Audi A8
- Audi R8

Corporate Governance

The Board of Management

Rupert Stadler - Chairman of the Board of Management Audi AG
Axel Strotbek - Finance and Organization
Michael Dick - Technical Development

Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board comprises 20 members, half of them representatives of the stockholders.
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Wintercorn - Chairman of the Supervisory Board Audi AG

Contact points

You can find more information about Audi AG on http://www.audi.com/

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