What is Audi?

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What is Audi?
Audi is a German brand of luxury automobiles that is part of the Volkswagen Group. Audi vehicles range from small cars like superminis to crossover sports utility vehicles which are placed under the premium and luxury car categories. Audi was founded in 1909 by August Horch and term “audi” is actually a Latin term for “listen”, which is also the English translation of “Horch”. The Audi brand used to be owned by Daimler-Benz but by 1966, 99.55% of the company is owned by Volkswagen AG. The Audi logo consists of “four rings” and these rings represent the union of four automobile manufacturers that eventually became Audi AG. These four manufacturers are Audi, Horch, DKW, and Wanderer.

Back in 1899, the company A. Horch & Cie was established by August Horch in Cologne, Germany. His first car was finished about two years later and this car featured 4-5hp engine. It also featured an alloy crankcase which is considered a “first” in the automobile manufacturing industry. By 1904, the company name became A. Horch & Cie Motorwagen-Werke AG and this time its headquarters is in Zwickau. Around the same time, Jorgen Rasmussen also established the DKW Company and produced steam-powered vehicles. By 1909, Horch was forced to form another company called Horch Automobil-Werke GmbH after a dispute with his original company. But another dispute came about because of the company name and so Horch was forced to rename the second company to Audiwerke GmbH by 1910. And with this new company name, the first Audi car was born.

Since 1910, Audi has grown as a company and has grown in popularity among many car enthusiasts. Before World War 1, Audi has become famous for winning several sporting rallies and races. During the war, the company was commissioned by the German government to manufacture vehicles specifically for the country’s effort. The company suffered from the recession that eventually followed the world war and was eventually forced to make a union with other car manufacturers at the time. With DKW, Horch, Wanderer, and Audi joining together, Auto Union was born and is represented by the four rings on the logo. Several years later, the company was sold to the Volkswagen Group and retained the brand name Audi with the four rings logo.

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