German car manufacturer Audi is one of the biggest automobile companies in the world. Their brand of luxury combined with solid engineering makes their vehicles an obvious choice for millions around the globe. Despite their success and size, things weren’t always so easy for the car giants, and they had a real rollercoaster ride during their early days.
It’s Beginnings
Audi only really existed in the first place after its creator was thrown out of his first car manufacturing company. August Horch created a car company in his own name, but when his ideas became too radical, he was made to leave by the board in 1909. Horch created another company called ‘Audi,’ and in 1910 it released its first car, the Type A. In 1920 Horch left Audi, but the company continued doing well, for a while at least.
Acquiring Other Car Companies
Audi was doing so well for itself under new management it began to acquire other manufacturers, including DKW, Wanderer, and its original company, Horch. That created the Auto Union conglomerate in 1932, which is why Audi now has four rings as its logo: to represent each company within the union.
Reborn
Auto Union then became synonymous with motor racing, but the Audi name was barely ever mentioned. In the commercial market, DKW was the face of Auto Union, but by the ’60s it began to struggle and eventually Auto Union was bought out by Volkswagen. That’s when the Audi name resurfaced, and with the might of Volkswagen behind it, the car company began to flourish. Models were sold based on size and given numbers to indicate what size they were, such as 60, 75, and 90.
Once Audi became a successful member of the Volkswagen group, there was no going back and it has developed into a market leader.