The origins of Audi
The company traces its origins back to 1899 and August
Horch. The first Horch automobile was produced in 1901 in Zwickau.
In 1910, Horch was forced out of the company he had founded. He then
started a new company in Zwickau and continued using the Horch brand.
His former partners sued him for trademark infringement and a German
court determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company.
August Horch was forced to refrain from using his own family name
in his new car business. As the word "horch!" translates
to "hark!" in German, August Horch settled on the Latin
equivalent of his name — "audi!". It is also popularly
believed that Audi is an acronym which stands for "Auto Union
Deutschland Ingolstadt". Audi produces over 2 million vehicles
annually at its main production site in Ingolstadt. Audi has another
production plant in Neckarsulm.
