Audi 2010 Annual Report Download - page 152

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The Company is also extending the production network at the Ingolstadt Group headquarters.
Work on the new A3 body shop progressed during the period under review. The first vehicle
bodies are due to leave the hall, which has a total floor area of around 50,000 square meters,
from mid-2011. It will be home to some 800 employees, and over 700 robots will be in opera-
tion. AUDI AG is investing a total of more than EUR 300 million in the new production facility,
EUR 200 million of this amount being earmarked for plant engineering. A new toolmaking build-
ing has also gone into use.
As well as extensions to production facilities to accommodate the five new model launches, last
year the Neckarsulm location celebrated the topping-out ceremony for a new engine test center
that is due for completion by 2012, at a total outlay of EUR 90 million. It was also announced
that the Audi e-tron, of which a small number will come onto the market at the end of 2012, will
be built at Neckarsulm.
Automotive Lean Production Award
In September 2010, AUDI AG repeated the previous year’s feat of winning the coveted “Automotive
Lean Production Award” (AUTOMOBIL PRODUKTION, issue 9/2010, p. 20 f.). For the first time
the “Manufacturers” prize was awarded not simply to an individual production area, but to an
entire automotive production line – that of the Audi A4, A5 and Q5 models at Ingolstadt.
The prize, which focuses on improvements to production processes, was jointly sponsored for
the fifth time by the trade publication AUTOMOBIL PRODUKTION and the management consul-
tants Agamus Consult. Over 60 companies in five categories took part in the competition.
DELIVERIES AND DISTRIBUTION
In the past fiscal year the Audi Group profited fully from the recovery in global demand for cars
thanks to its young, attractive product portfolio and extensive range of modern, highly efficient
engines. The Company was able to boost worldwide deliveries to customers by 12.9 percent to
1,293,453 (1,145,360) vehicles.
The core brand Audi grew faster than the worldwide auto market overall; it increased by 15.0
percent to take its tally to 1,092,411 (949,729) cars, comfortably beating the previous deliv-
eries record of just over one million premium vehicles established in 2008.
The brand with the four rings also set new records for deliveries of vehicles in major national
markets. Deliveries were stimulated in particular by the A5 Sportback and Audi Q5, which en-
joyed considerable demand. Additionally, the A1, the A7 Sportback and A8 were successfully
brought onto markets in the year under review.
In the home market Germany, which contracted by 23.4 percent in 2010 following the expiry of
the environment bonus, the Audi brand kept total deliveries stable compared with the previous
year at 229,157 (228,844) Audi vehicles. Its market share thus rose from 6.2 to 7.8 percent.
The Audi brand increased its deliveries in almost all Western European export markets in the
past fiscal year. In the UK, 99,705 (90,513) Audi vehicles were delivered to customers, a rise of
10.2 percent. In France and Italy, too, the Audi brand bucked the general market trend and
increased its deliveries by 9.4 and 5.5 percent respectively. Overall, the Company delivered
382,748 (359,465) Audi models in Western Europe (excluding Germany), a rise of 6.5 percent,
thus reasserting its position as market leader in the premium segment.