Golden Steering Wheel for Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn

Source: Audi of America

INGOLSTADT, Germany – Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management at AUDI AG, yesterday received the Golden Steering Wheel for his outstanding achievements in the motoring world. This accolade, awarded by “Bild am Sonntag”, is one of the most prestigious in the automotive industry. His successful work at Audi was particularly highly lauded. Claus Strunz, editor-in-chief of “Bild am Sonntag”, bestowed the following words of praise upon him: “He is certainly not lacking in self-confidence – the self-confidence of a winner who works hard for success and sets a pace which only the best can keep up with.”

Winterkorn, who took over as Chairman at AUDI AG in 2002, has taken the brand from one sales record to the next. AUDI AG is set to achieve yet another record year in 2006, too, with sales of 900,000 vehicles. Furthermore, he has initiated an unprecedented model drive in his capacity as Chairman of the Board. He has opened up new niches with great success for Audi by introducing models such as the Audi Q7. In motor racing, too, he recorded a milestone: the Audi R10 was the first diesel-powered car to win the Le Mans 24 Hours. The rising registration figures and numerous accolades attest to the quality of Winterkorn’s work.

Thanks to the clever model strategy, jobs at Audi will be safeguarded until 2011. Around 45,000 of the company’s 50,000 employees work at one of the two German plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.

Winterkorn joined the VW Group in 1981. In 1996 he took over as Member of the Brand Board of Management for “Technical Development” for the Volkswagen brand. The Swabian-born Winterkorn has been Chairman of the Board of Management at AUDI AG since 1 March 2002. He is Head of the Audi brand group including the brands Audi, SEAT and Lamborghini, which was formed on 1 January 2002.

In addition to this he became responsible for Technical Development at AUDI AG from 1 January 2003. In his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Management at AUDI AG, Winterkorn is also a Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG.

Receiving the accolade yesterday in Berlin means that Winterkorn stands on a par with highly significant figures from automotive history such as Ferdinand Piech, Ferry Porsche and Michael Schumacher, all of whom also collected the Golden Steering Wheel in the past.