Who Owns Audi?
One of the biggest car manufacturers around, Audi is currently owned by Volkswagen.
Written by Joshua Levy
Reviewed by Jessica Barrett
Soon after it found success with the Beetle in the 1950s, Volkswagen went on to buy Auto Union GmbH—Audi’s immediate predecessor. In the next few years, Audi would hit the market as an instant success.
While Audi is one of the biggest car manufacturers on the market today, it was only founded in 1969, well after it was purchased by the
Volkswagen
corporation. That said, Audi as we know it has always been owned by Volkswagen. Of course, Audi’s history dates all the way back to 1885, making it one of the oldest automobile manufacturers around.We know how fun reading up on your favorite car manufacturers can be! That’s why we're here to tell you everything you need to know about Audi’s ownership history.
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4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ driversWho owns Audi?
Volkswagen bought Audi’s direct predecessor, Auto Union, from Daimler-Benz in 1964. In 1969, Auto Union was merged with Volkswagen’s subsidiary NSU Motorenwerke to form Audi as we know it today.
When you think of Volkswagen, you probably imagine station wagons and the iconic
Volkswagen Beetle
. But the Volkswagen group is a huge multinational corporation with stakes in several sectors and more than a few big-name manufacturers. In fact, Volkswagen owns some of the biggest names in the luxury car industry, including Lamborghini
and Bently.What other makes does Volkswagen own?
The Volkswagen group is a much bigger organization than many people imagine. That said, Volkswagen also owns some of the biggest manufacturers on the market. While you may not recognize all the names, here are all the car makes owned by Volkswagen:
- Audi
- Bugatti
- Bentley
- Lamborghini
- SEAT
- SKODA
- Ducati
- MAN
- SCANIA
- Volkswagen
- Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
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Where are Audis made?
Audi has been a German staple in car manufacturing since its founding in 1885, so it should come as no surprise that most of Audi’s manufacturing happens in the German cities of Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.
Of course, Audi also has large facilities outside of Germany. Specifically, some of Audi’s biggest facilities are in the following countries:
- Hungary
- Belgium
- Mexico
As a whole, Audi’s manufacturing process is relatively decentralized. Its bigger facilities are capable of producing cars from beginning to end, so no single factory has any major control over manufacturing in other areas. So while Audi is a born-and-bred German company, it has roots all over the world!
Key Takeaway Audi is largely manufactured in Germany, but the company has big production facilities all over the world.
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A short history of Audi ownership
While Audi as it is today has always belonged to the Volkswagen Group, the brand has a long history of ownership leading up to that point. Audi was founded in 1885 under the name A. Horch & Cie. The founder, August Horch, originally owned the company along with a few business friends, but after a disagreement with his partners in 1910, Horch split from the main company and established his own brand under the name Audiwerke AG Zwickau.
In 1932, Audiwerke merged with three other major manufacturers of the time—Horch, DKW, and Wandered—to become Auto Union AG. The merging of these four manufacturers is also where Audi gets its logo from. Each ring in the Audi link represents one of these original brands that came together to form the Auto Union corporation.
For the next 26 years, Auto Union continued operations as its own corporation, but in 1958 the Daimler-Benzgroup (now known as Mercedes-Benz) bought the corporation. Under Daimler-Benz's leadership, Auto Union would continue operations as usual. Six years later in 1964, Volkswagen bought Auto Union from Daimler-Benz.
In the next five years, Auto Union would go on to impress Volkswagen so much that they were officially rebranded and given autonomy as a manufacturer in 1969. Since then, Volkswagen has been the sole owner of Audi and considers the brand to be one of its greatest commodities.
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