As is the case with most German motor manufacturers, getting to where they are today has not been easy and Audi is no exception. Surviving amongst numerous other challenges, two World Wars.
In 1899 August Horch established Horch and Cie and his first car was completed in 1901; it had a horizontal engine and its crankcase was made of alloy, something that had not been done before. Lanterns, with candles, provided the car's lighting. It had a top speed of 20 mph.
Horch had taken the first steps towards creating what is today one of the most highly sought after marques in the world, recognized for its excellent standards of engineering and innovation. Audi cars today are very much associated with quality and luxury but always incorporating an element of sportiness. The prestige of the marque is such that even their entry model the A3, is seen as a car people choose to drive, rather than one that is bought because they can't afford a more expensive model.
As a result of its image the A3 is so popular with drivers today, that a search under Audi Contract Hire on Goggle produces 236,000 results and under Personal Contract Hire 232,000. However contract hire and leasing companies struggled during 2007 to meet the demand; on some models such as the 1.9 TDI, having to quote 3-4 months delivery.
By 1902 Horch had run into financial problems and he had to seek further funding by introducing new partners. In 1903 Horch launched a new four-cylinder car that was shown at the Frankfurt Fair in 1904. However during 1904 more financial problems forced further reorganization and August Horch and company became Horch Aktiengesellschaft. Horch's first six-cylinder car was produced in 1907 and his cars were starting to gain recognition.
Further financial problems and disputes with the Board led to Horch being forced out of the company during 1909. Within a year Horch had formed a new company August Horch Automobil-Werke. He thought he was entitled to use his own name, however he was sued by his previous company regarding the use of the Horch name and had no choice but to rename his company.
Determined to still use his own name Horch decided to call his company Horch but in Latin, which translated into Audi so in 1910 the new company became Audiwerke GmbH.
The International Austrian Alpine Run was a famous and very exciting race; in 1911 Horch entered the race personally in an Audi and won first prize. This encouraged him to enter a team in 1912,13 and14. They won the team prize each year. This provided a tremendous amount of prestige for Audi.
In Germany cars are left hand drive and in the UK right hand drive, its interesting to note however that cars were in fact previously right hand drive in Germany and it was Audi in 1921 that produced the first left hand drive car. Previously cars had followed the tradition of the horse drawn carriage where the driver always sat on the right. Other manufacturers later took up this design.
1923 saw Audi's launch of a six-cylinder car with a hydraulic four-wheel braking system and had an air cleaner fitted. This did not become standard equipment on cars until many years later. During 1927 the company launched an eight-cylinder model called the Imperator an impressive car but the timing was not good; large cars were not selling well.
With the company in severe financial trouble, a Mr Rasmussen acquired a majority shareholding in Audiwerke in 1928. He was the owner DKW, the company that produced a car that had a wooden body and rather strangely covered in imitation leather.
It was in June 1932 that four vehicle manufacturers joined forces; Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer to form Auto Union AG. The four rings, still used today by Audi signified the amalgamation of the four companies. Uniquely Auto Union AG was carrying out crash tests as early as 1938. They carried out a number of systematic rollover tests to see how the body shells would behave when rolled.
In 1946 August Horch's wife died, two years later Horch remarried. On February 3 1951, August Horch died aged 82. There is now the August Horch Museum in Zwickau, opened in 2004. Where you can see amongst other early manufacturers, many of the innovative Horch designs, including the 1911 Horch Phaeton. Visitors can also tour the Horch Villa and see how the great man lived.
After The Second World War Auto Union AG's factory, was dismantled by the occupying forces, its entire assets were seized and the company was struck from the register. A number of the senior management set up a new company in 1949 called Auto Union GmbH, retaining the symbol of the four rings.
Volkswagen acquired a majority shareholding in Auto Union GmbH in 1964 and production of two-stroke engines was ceased. In 1965 an Audi with a four-stroke engine was launched. 1968 saw the introduction of the best-selling Audi 100. During 1969 there was a merger of Auto Union GmbH and NSU. The new company name was Audi NSU Auto Union AG. This name remained until the mid 1980's when it was renamed Audi AG.
In 1972 the highly successful Audi 80 was introduced, over 1,000,000 of this model was sold. Next came the perfectly timed Audi 50 in 1974. At the time there was an oil crisis and fuel prices went through the roof, there could not have been a better time for Audi to bring out its new economy model.
Audi took the 1980 Geneva Motor Show by storm by revealing their four-wheel drive sports coupe The Audi Quattro. At the time it was startling to see a sports car with four-wheel drive; a system that had previously been associated with off road vehicles. The Audi Quattro became highly successful in motor sport and was eventually introduced throughout the range.
The third generation Audi 100 was launched in 1892 it was of lighter construction and was hailed as a success, Audi were becoming very serious competition for BMW. In 1985 Audi NSU Auto Union AG was renamed Audi AG.
1986 saw the introduction of the third generation Audi 80. This time with a galvanized body shell and carrying a ten-year warranty against rust penetration. Audi were constantly pushing the boundaries in automotive design.
A new Audi V8 with a 3.6 litre eight-cylinder alloy engine, the car had permanent four-wheel drive. This further raised Audi's profile in the luxury car market Another landmark for Audi was in 1989 when they achieved something that they had been developing for more than a decade; diesel direct injection in a car engine, which worked in conjunction with a turbo charger. The result was low fuel consumption. Something similar had previously been used for truck engines but never in a car. An Audi 100 with a 2.5 TDI engine was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show that year. In 1991 Audi once again startled the motoring world by presenting two spectacular sports cars in the same year. The Audi Quattro Spyder was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show and the Audi Avus Quattro at the Tokyo Motor Show. Both had lightweight aluminium body shells.
Audi became lighter in 1993. At the Frankfurt Motor Show Audi displayed their new lightweight aluminium body shells. March 1994 saw the launch of the A8, the large luxury model with an all aluminium body. The other models were renamed; the Audi 80 became the A4 and the Audi 100 became the A6. In 1996 Audi launched their first compact model the now highly successful A3. In 2000 the A2 was launched.
"Vorsprung durch Technik" an expression that we all came to know and associate with Audi cars, was in fact first used by Audi in 1971. However few people actually know what it means. As is often the case with languages, there is no exact translation but essentially it means Progress Through Technology. One person when asked in a survey what the phrase meant replied, "It means buy our cars because we're clever". Not a bad answer because Audi are indeed clever; in terms of their technology, marketing and pricing, which has led to their current popularity and ever-growing market share.
If you have any queries or questions regarding Audi Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Vehicle Hire Purchase or any other aspect of vehicle funding, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536.
contract hire | personal contract hire | vehicle hire purchase
Bowater Price plc - Personal Contract Hire and Vehicle Hire Purchase
