Audi 2015 Annual Report Download - page 127

the circumstances mentioned above
and continuing high upfront expendi-
tures for the future model and technolo-
gy portfolio as well as for the expansion
of international manufacturing struc-
tures.
The Supervisory Board would like to
thank the entire Audi team for its huge
commitment. It is the hope of the
Supervisory Board that everyone at the
Company can together rise to the
challenges that lie ahead for the current
fiscal year.
The Board of Management gave regular,
up-to-date and comprehensive accounts
of its actions to the Supervisory Board.
Decisions of fundamental importance
were discussed in detail by the Board of
Management and the Supervisory Board.
The Supervisory Board considered the
economic framework and the Company’s
business progress and policy as well as
its risk management and risk situation
at ordinary meetings of the Supervisory
Board convened each quarter, as well as
on the basis of regular oral and written
reports from the Board of Management,
and consulted the Board of Management
closely on these matters. The Chairman
of the Supervisory Board also consulted
with the Chairman of the Board of Man-
agement in between the regular meet-
ings, on such topics as the Company’s
strategy, business policy, business
performance and also risk management.
At its four ordinary meetings in ,
the Supervisory Board also considered
at length the opportunities and risks
for Audi in key markets such as the United
States, China, Russia and other European
markets. The Supervisory Board also
consulted with the Board of Manage-
ment regarding the further strengthen-
ing of the full-size model lines in the
automotive segment, the employment
situation in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm,
the proportion of women in the Compa-
ny, particularly in the individual man-
agement tiers and on the Board of Man-
agement, as well as strategic expansion
potential
. Other subject areas discussed
were the digitalization and connectivity
of vehicles with their environment.
Europe, on the other hand, exceeded
the expectations voiced at the start
of the year. Amid this challenging envi-
ronment, the Audi Group maintained
its course of growth and supplied
,, cars of the Audi brand to cus-
tomers worldwide in the past fiscal year –
an increase of . percent from the pre-
vious year’s already high level. Alongside
continuing high demand for the SUV
models, the cars of the Audi A car line
and the new Audi TT family were
especially well received by customers.
The Company achieved its strategic ob-
jectives in financial terms, too – despite
The final months of the past fiscal year
were dominated by the Group-wide
investigations into the diesel issue, the
task of identifying what consequences
and measures then needed to be taken,
and the preparation of technical
solutions for customers. Meanwhile,
the overall development in automobile
markets worldwide was less positive
than one year previously. China in partic-
ular, the world’s largest passenger car
market, experienced a marked slowdown
in the past fiscal year and was unable to
repeat the high growth rates of earlier
years. The market as a whole in Western
Matthias Müller
Chairman of the Supervisory Board
PHOTO : Volkswagen AG
Report of the Supervisory Board >> 127