Audi A6 gets "Golden Steering Wheel" gong
This year, the 42-person jury consisted of a line-up of VIPs, technical experts, professional motor racing and rally drivers and the editors-in-chief of the trade publication "Auto Bild" from around the world. All had the opportunity to put the 20 finalist vehicles through their paces behind closed doors on a special proving ground.
With 21 "Golden Steering Wheel" awards to its name over the 36-year history of the competition run by "Bild am Sonntag" and "Auto Bild," Audi is the most successful brand to date in the contest.
Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, accepted the award for the A6 yesterday evening at the awards ceremony in the Axel Springer Publishing House in Berlin in front of an audience of around 300 invited guests from industry, politics and the media.
The A3 TCNG also placed second for the "Green Steering Wheel." Audi began small series production of this vehicle in 2011. The power acquired from four offshore wind turbines in the North Sea is used to produce e-gas, a CO2-neutral, artificial methane gas.
Fed into the natural gas grid, this e-gas can be used to power the A3 TCNG fleet. Adapted to the use of natural gas, the 1.4 TFSI serves as the basic engine in the A3 TCNG.
The "Golden Steering Wheel" has been awarded to the best new car models every year since 1975. In recent years, winners included the Audi A6 (2004), the Q7 (2005), the A4 Sedan (2007), the SUV Audi Q5 (2008), the A5 Sportback (2009) and, in 2010, the A1 and the A8.
About the Audi Group
The Audi Group delivered around 1,092,400 cars of the Audi brand to customers in 2010. The Company posted revenue of $35.4 billion and an operating profit of $3.3 billion in 2010. In the first half of 2011, the Audi Group sold 652,970 vehicles bearing the four rings worldwide and achieved record figures in terms of revenue ($21.5 billion) and operating profit ($2.5 billion).
Audi produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Gyor (Hungary), Changchun (China) and Brussels (Belgium). Aurangabad in India saw the start of CKD production of the Audi A6 at the end of 2007, of the Audi A4 in early October 2008 and of the Audi Q5 in July 2010. Production of the new Audi A1 has been running at the Brussels plant since May 2010. The Audi Q3 has been built in Martorell (Spain) since June 2011.
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 60,000 people worldwide, including around 46,600 in Germany.
Between 2011 and 2015 the brand with the four rings is planning to invest more than _11 billion, mainly in new products, in order to sustain the Company's technological lead embodied in its "Vorsprung durch Technik" slogan. By 2015, Audi plans to increase the number of models in its portfolio to 42.
Audi has long been fulfilling its social responsibility on many levels - with the aim of making the future worth living for generations to come. The basis for Audi's lasting success is therefore formed by environmental protection, the conservation of resources, international competitiveness and a forward-looking human resources policy. One example of AUDI AG's commitment to environmental issues is the newly established Audi Environmental Foundation. Under the heading of "Audi balanced mobility," the Company is directing its activities toward a major goal - comprehensive CO2-neutral mobility.
