Design Trophy 2010 - Audi Triumphs

STUTTGART – April 1, 2010: Audi has been named the “most beautiful brand” in the first design award competition presented by Auto Zeitung magazine. The German luxury carmaker performed extraordinarily well in the debut competition for the Design Trophy 2010, with the R8 Spyder also finishing on the podium in the category “most beautiful car model.”

Readers of the German magazine for car enthusiasts were able to choose from among the 50 best-selling car brands in Germany. More than 26 percent of those participating voted for Audi as the “brand with the most beautiful cars”.

Voters also had a choice from among 50 different car models including the R8 Spyder, which was selected “most beautiful convertible.” The open-top supercar was also ranked third overall, with the A5 Sportback right behind it in fourth place.

This year marked the very first competition for the Design Trophy. Roughly 14,000 readers of the print and online versions of Auto Zeitung voted in the competition.

The AUDI Group sold around 950,000 cars in 2009. The Company posted revenue of €29.8 billion and an operating profit of €1.6 billion. Audi produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Györ (Hungary), Changchun (China) and Brussels (Belgium). Aurangabad in India saw the start of CKD production of the Audi A6 at the end of 2007 and of the Audi A4 in early October 2008. The Company is active in more than 100 markets worldwide. AUDI AG’s wholly owned subsidiaries include AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft., Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. in Sant’Agata Bolognese (Italy) and quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm. Audi currently employs around 58,000 people worldwide, including 45,500 in Germany. Between 2010 and 2012 the Audi Group is planning to invest around €5.5 billion in order to sustain the Company’s technological lead embodied in its “Vorsprung durch Technik” slogan. By 2015, Audi plans to significantly increase the number of models in its portfolio to 42.