Audi 2010 Annual Report Download - page 4

PHOTO | CLAUDIA KEMPF
Fiscal 2010 was characterized by the global economy’s
unexpectedly swift recovery from the consequences of
the fi nancial and economic crisis. Global demand for
automobiles surged ahead, mainly thanks to the very
dynamic performance of Asian markets, but also to an
improvement in the car market in the United States and
the major markets in Latin America.
The Audi brand brought numerous new products onto
the markets in the course of the past fi scal year, among
them the new Audi A8, the Audi A1, the A7 Sportback as
well as other models, and again delighted its customers
with a steadily growing, attractive product portfolio.
The Audi Group consequently set new all-time records
for the Company: As well as building more vehicles than
ever before, it established a new record for deliveries
to customers in selling 1,092,411 Audi vehicles. The
Audi Group thus substantially improved its key fi nancial
indicators and posted new record highs for revenue and
operating profi t. In 2010 the Company was yet again one
of the most profi table premium manufacturers in the
international automotive industry.
This success of the Audi Group is principally down to
the huge commitment of all the people who work for it.
The Supervisory Board takes this opportunity to thank all
involved for working so eff ectively over the past fi scal year.
There were the following changes on the Supervisory
Board of AUDI AG in 2010: With the close of the Annual
General Meeting on May 20, 2010 Wolfgang Förster,
employee representative, retired from the Supervisory
Board and Audit Committee. The Supervisory Board is
deeply indebted and grateful to him for his considerable
involvement and dedication over a period of 17 years.
Helmut Späth succeeded him on the Supervisory Board
on May 25, 2010. The Supervisory Board elected Jörg
Schlagbauer to the Audit Committee as successor to
Wolfgang Förster.
The Board of Management again gave regular, up-to-date,
comprehensive accounts of its actions to the Supervisory
Board in 2010. All decisions fundamentally important to
the Company were discussed in detail between the Board of
Management and the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory
Board considered at length the economic situation of the
Company, its business progress and business policy as well
as the risk management approach and the risk situation
during the past fi scal year at the four quarterly meetings
and by means of regular, detailed oral and written reports
from the Board of Management, and consulted the Board of
Management on all these matters. The Supervisory Board
reached decisions on business developments requiring
urgent consideration by written circular. All Supervisory
Board members were present at more than half of the
meetings. The members of the Presiding Committee held
extensive consultations before the joint meetings. The
Negotiating Committee did not need to be convened in the
2010 fi scal year.
The principal topics at the Supervisory Board meetings
were the wishes of customers for further progress towards
realizing future mobility concepts. The possible solutions
considered in this context included effi ciency advances for
combustion engines, alternative fuels, the introduction
of hybrid models and the systematic development of
purely electric mobility. Other major topics discussed in its
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Report of the Supervisory Board
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Winterkorn
Chairman of the Supervisory Board