Audi 2011 Annual Report Download - page 104

Axel Strotbek: I’m very pleased to be
meeting up here in London, the host
city of the 2012 Olympic Games.
On the one hand that’s highly fi tting
for Audi: We are a very sporty brand,
with sporty products, sporty ambitions
and sporty corporate growth. On
the other hand the Olympic motto
“Faster, Higher, Stronger” has always
been echoed by the business world.
But when you think about it, you do
wonder whether this can be sustained
in the future.
Dr. Eckart John von Freyend: The
motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger”
encapsulates the essence of com-
petition. Sport is competition. And
so is business. Interestingly, that
principle is widely accepted in sport –
yet in business we have to keep
fi ghting our corner. Remember that
competition creates innovation.
Competition helps to cut costs. And
ultimately, competition improves
quality of life. That is why, in business,
we have to keep fi ghting for new
competitive structures. But you are in
the happy position that your products
unite business with sport, so you are
able to keep emphasizing the parallels
between competition in these two
spheres.
Strotbek: At Audi, we have set our-
selves clear goals. Sportiness is part
of our brand’s essence. But we are not
just seeking to grow quantitatively,
we are especially eager for qualitative
growth. As CFO, I believe it is
particularly important for us to focus
not just on the sporting challenge
of achieving good short-term results,
quarter by quarter. We always keep
our long-term corporate strategy
in focus, too. We’ve set ourselves
four key goals in order to become the
world leader in the premium segment:
First, we aim to become image leader
among the premium manufacturers –
worldwide. We are not quite there
yet, but we are working with great
focus toward this goal and are making
signifi cant progress.
Second, we want to bolster our volume
growth and improve our competitive
position. To achieve that, we are
increasing our production capacity
Responsibility _
101
Meeting in the City of London:
Axel Strotbek (left) met Dr. Eckart
John von Freyend in the world-
famous skyscraper “30 St Mary Axe.”
“Competition creates
innovations.
Competition improves
quality of life.”
Dr. Eckart John von Freyend
Strictly speaking, the name
of this offi ce block in
London is the same as its
address: 30 St Mary Axe.
But Londoners have
dubbed
the giant glazed building
“The Gherkin.” The 41-story
tower owes its appearance
to the star architects
from Foster + Partners,
led by Lord Norman Foster.
The skeleton consists of
interlocking helixes,
with the offi ces arranged
in rings around this core.
It contains atriums up to
six fl oors high, and natural
ventilation is used.
Famous “Gherkin”