Audi

Audi AG is a major German manufacturer of luxury vehicles.

The company is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. It operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. Today, Audi produces vehicles in nine different production facilities across the world. It is recognized as one of the best-selling luxury automobile brands globally. This status places it alongside other famous German brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The company uses the slogan "Progress through Technology" to represent its mission.

The origins of the Audi name involve a complex legal dispute. Engineer August Horch founded his first company, A. Horch & Cie., in 1899.

After experiencing troubles with a chief financial officer, Horch left his original firm. He founded a second company in Zwickau in 1909 called August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. However, his former partners sued him for trademark infringement. The German Reichsgericht, or Supreme Court, ruled that the name "Horch" belonged to the original company. This meant August Horch could not use his own surname for his new business.

To solve this problem, Horch met with business associates to find a new identity. During a meeting, the son of an associate suggested using a Latin word. The word "audi" was chosen because it is the singular imperative form of "audire." In Latin, "audi" means "to listen." This was a clever way to preserve the meaning of his name. In German, the name "Horch" means "hark" or "hear." Thus, the new brand name "Audi" served as a direct translation of his identity.

The first Audi automobile, the Type A 10/ Sport-Phaeton, was produced in 1910.

The modern Audi logo is a symbol of corporate unification. In 1932, four different manufacturers merged to form a new entity called Auto Union AG. These four companies were Audi, Horch, DKW, and Wanderer.

To represent this union, the company adopted the four interlinked rings. While the member companies used their own names for a time, the rings were used on Auto Union racing cars. This period also saw significant engineering milestones. The Audi Front became the first European car to combine a six-cylinder engine with front-wheel drive. It utilized a power train that was turned 180 degrees so the drive shaft faced the front.

The company faced massive disruption during World War II. Under the leadership of chairman Richard Bruhn, Auto Union operated during the war years. In 2014, a study commissioned by Audi revealed the company's involvement with the SS. The investigation found that the company worked with the SS to build seven labor camps. These camps held more than 3,700 prisoners. Additionally, 16,500 people were forced to work at factories in Zwickau and Chemnitz. Another 18,000 people worked at an underground plant in Bavaria, where 4,500 people died.

After the war, the company had to relocate from Soviet-controlled East Germany. Executives chose Ingolstadt, Bavaria, to establish a new base for spare parts operations in 1945. The reformed Auto Union was officially launched in Ingolstadt on September 3, 1949. For several years, the company focused on DKW's tradition of two-stroke engines. However, customers soon preferred smoother four-stroke engines. In 1964, Volkswagen acquired a 50% stake in the business. By 1966, Volkswagen had complete control and used the Ingolstadt plant to assemble Volkswagen Beetles.

The modern era of the Audi brand began in the mid-1960s. Volkswagen relaunched the Audi brand in 1965 with the introduction of the Audi F103 series. This series replaced the older DKW models with more modern four-stroke technology. In 1969, Volkswagen merged Auto Union with NSU Motorenwerke to create the present-day company structure. This era allowed Audi to transition from a small manufacturer into a luxury powerhouse.

Today, Audi continues to evolve through new technologies. The company now produces advanced electric vehicles like the Q4 e-tron. Interestingly, production of this electric model began in Zwickau, the same city where Audi's early history began.