Audi 2015 Annual Report Download - page 139

BASIS OF THE AUDI GROUP
STRATEGY
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// TOP IMAGE POSITION AND CUSTOMER MIX
For a premium automobile manufacturer, a strong brand
and a positive image are key success factors. It is extremely
important in this respect to have a corresponding customer
mix, for example in terms of average age, values and price
acceptance. To delight customers and bind them emotionally
to the Audi brand, we want to achieve even higher image
ratings and steadily improve our high-quality, innovative
product portfolio. To support customers affected by the diesel
issue, we have initiated a variety of measures and set up a
customer information website. Our priority is to find quick,
straightforward and customer-friendly solutions.
An array of national and international awards confirms the
appeal and popularity of our brand. Among the awards we
received in the year under review were the following:
>L.E.A.D.E.R. Award 2015:
Audi received the L.E.A.D.E.R. Award 2015 in the Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) category from Automotive
News Europe and the Automotive Intelligence Center, Bilbao
(Spain), for setting new standards in lightweight construc-
tion and piloted driving in Europe
(www.dpp.de/articles/8917 – link only available in German).
>Most reliable European auto brand in the United States:
Audi achieved third place in the “2015 Annual Auto Reliabil-
ity Survey” conducted by the renowned American consumer
magazine Consumer Reports, making it the highest-ranking
European car manufacturer for the fourth time in succession
(www.consumerreports.org/cars/highlights-consumer-
reports-2015-annual-auto-reliability-survey).
>Golden Steering Wheel 2015:
Audi was awarded the Golden Steering Wheel by the publi-
cations AUTO BILD and BILD am SONNTAG in the Midsize
Cars and Sports Cars categories for the new A4 Sedan and
the new R8 (www.autobild.de/artikel/das-goldene-lenkrad-
2015-7102599.html – link only available in German).
>Auto Trophy 2015:
Audi was the most successful brand of 2015 in the AUTO
ZEITUNG reader poll, with five awards. The winning models
were the Audi A1, A3, Q7 and R8. We also won the “Best De-
sign Worldwide” category (auto-presse.de/autonews.php?
newsid=319976 – link only available in German).
>Wertmeister 2015:
In 2015, the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron was awarded the title
of “Wertmeister 2015” by AUTO BILD and the market re-
search institute Schwacke as the car with the most stable re-
sidual value in its segment (AUTO BILD, 7/2015, p. 56-57).
>Top “Luxury Car” in the United States:
According to the U.S. magazine Consumer Reports, the
Audi A6 was voted top “Luxury Car” by U.S. car drivers for
the third year in a row (www.consumerreports.org/cro/
magazine/2015/04/consumer-reports-10-top-picks-of-
2015/index.htm).
>Cars Awards 2015:
The British daily newspaper The Daily Telegraph voted the
Audi TT Coupé the “Best Sports Car” and the Audi A3 the
“Best Family Car” in its annual Cars Awards
(www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/cars-awards/).
// LEADERS IN INNOVATION
Our ambition is to lead the way in both design and technology.
We also want to offer our customers sporty, high-quality, inno-
vative products as well as attractive mobility solutions. We
place particular focus here on aligning our cutting-edge tech-
nologies with the expectations of our customers and making
this technical expertise a tangible experience for customers.
We again brought various innovations to production maturity
in the 2015 fiscal year. To delight customers worldwide, it is
essential to address a wide variety of topics. We have therefore
chosen to concentrate on the following core themes, among
others:
>The efficiency of our products
>Alternative drive systems
>Vehicle presentation and interior experience
>Connected, automated driving
>Intuitive operating concepts
>Intelligent and appealing vehicle architecture
>Lightweight construction and sustainability
>Sportiness and driving experience
Through our consistent, long-term innovations management,
we ensure that the core themes are steadily advanced. We also
offer every employee a platform for new ideas relating to all
areas of the Audi brand in our so-called Innoteams. To com-
plement our core processes and core business, we thus seek to
offer scope for putting creative ideas into practice. At the
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 in Las Vegas, we com-
municated the innovative idea “Audi Fit Driver,” for example.
The driver’s current state of fitness is detected by a wearable
device and the vehicle sensors.