Audi AG is owned by Volkswagen, and has been since the mid sixties their luxury automobile and engine company. The history of Audi is marred in combinations, evolutions, and consolidations of different companies – however it can be seen as starting way back with its roots in 1899 by August Horch, a German engineer and pretty much all around renaissance man who was the pioneer behind many of the first automobiles made pre-1900 – but his own Horch automobile was not completed and released until 01 (1901 that is). Horch had a falling out with his company and left it – then a court found he couldn’t use the Horch name anymore (no comment) and thus he named his new company Audi (Automobilerke GmbH). Little known fact: Audi means Horch in Latin. In 1928 a Dane named Jorgen Rasmussen bought a majority controlling holding of Audi, and then in 1932 through his skilled investments created a new four ring logo – as he combined four companies together. DKW, Horch (the original company Horch had created – which Horch was pleased with), Audi, and Wanderer – which merged together in one big company called Auto Union AG.
After the second world war the Auto Union facilities had been completely destroyed and decimated due to allied bombings = thus the company was basically put in a state of suspended animation until things could be resolved – which came as a breakup of the Union and the renamed to VEB Zwickau. This new company was brought online and used the previous name, with many of the workers from the bombed out facilities coming to the new one to find work. Daimler Benz then bought a large (87%) amount of Auto Union in 1958, and then a year later bought the rest. Then in 64 Volkswagen acquired the old plant and the brands, then in 65 the final DKW was rolled off the assembly line – and re-launched the Audi brand. Thus Audi became Volkswagen’s and then Volkswagen ushered in the current modern era of luxury vehicles in the 1970’s – which is what Audi still does today. Recently Audi’s Euro sales have been going up – for thirteen years straight. So far they sell about three quarters of a million cars each year and continue to expand dealerships as far as India.