Audi AG, based in Ingolstadt in Bavaria, is a German car manufacturer that has been part of the Volkswagen Group since the 1960s and has been classified as a premium manufacturer since the 2000s.  Audi's slogan is “Vorsprung durch Technik” (Advancement through Technology) Audi is one of the best-selling luxury car brands in the world, alongside the German brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The origins of the company are complex and date back to the beginning of the 20th century and the first companies (Horch and Audiwerke) founded by the engineer August Horch in Zwickau in the former Kingdom of Saxony. Two other manufacturers, including DKW, which later produced the infamous Trabant at the Zickau plant until 1991, also contributed to the founding of Auto Union in 1932. The modern era of Audi began in the 1960s, when Auto Union was taken over from Daimler-Benz by Volkswagen. Following the reintroduction of the Audi brand with the launch of the Audi F103 model series in 1965, Volkswagen merged Auto Union with NSU Motorenwerke in 1969, creating the current form of the company.

The company name is based on the Latin translation of the founder's surname, August Horch. Horch, which means “to hear”, becomes audi in Latin. The four rings of the Audi logo each stand for one of the four car companies that merged to form Auto Union, Audi's predecessor company.

In 2014, Audi was the last major German automotive company to commission an investigation into its wartime activities. The investigation revealed that the company collaborated with the SS to set up seven labor camps. From 1932 - 1945, Richard Bruhn, a member of the NSDAP was Chairman of the Board of Management of Auto Union and again after the war when the company was re-established in Ingolstadt in 1949.

Audi AG has owned the sports car manufacturer Lamborghini since 1998 and the motorcycle manufacturer Ducati since 2012.

Audi's sales grew strongly in the 2000s: deliveries to customers increased by 1,003,000 in 2008, with the largest sales increases coming from Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. China in particular has developed into a key market. One reason for Audi's popularity in China is the fact that Audis have become the Chinese government's vehicle of choice for civil servants; government purchases account for 20% of sales in China. In 2011, Audi of America reported record sales of the new Audi A7 and Audi A3 TDI Clean Diesel. In May 2012, Audi reported a 10% increase in sales last year alone. In January 2021, Audi announced that the company plans to sell 1 million vehicles in China in 2023. (Source: Wikipedia)