"The new Audi Forum is our conspicuous affirmation of the Neckarsulm location’s future," states Professor Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, at the opening ceremony of the Audi Forum Neckarsulm. The Neckarsulm site - where the top-of-the-range Audi A6 and Audi A8 are built, vehicles are customised and where the group has pooled its entire expertise in aluminium and lightweight design – now has a facility that gives the brand a fitting presence. Around 500 guests from the world of politics, business and the media will witness a musical and visual spectacle at the opening ceremony today evening. The accompanying programme will span all three storeys of the 18-metre high building.

The Audi brand is noted for the visual design not simply of its sporty products, but also of the venues at which Audi interfaces with its customers. The spectacular architecture of the new building stands for transparency and openness, values that are very important to Audi. The radiant structure of glass, steel and aluminium provides a fascinating insight into the world of the Audi brand. The shape of the ellipse, which symbolises movement, recurs throughout the entire building. The aluminium facade represents the Audi brand's pioneering role in lightweight design technology.

Together with the opening of the new Customer Service Centre in September 2002, the six-storey car park (completed in November 2003) and now the Audi Forum Neckarsulm, all key functions for Audi customers are now grouped together at a single location.

Over 100 employees have the task of ensuring that visitors and customers have a uniquely memorable experience at the Audi Forum. Individual customer consultations, exhibitions and model presentations, the vividly orchestrated vehicle handover process, factory tours and social and cultural events at the Audi Forum Neckarsulm all emphasise to visitors how far the claim of "Vorsprung durch Technik" transcends the process of manufacturing premium cars. Audi's principal catering establishment, the Nuvolari Restaurant, combines transparent, urban architecture with superb cuisine.

Audi is issuing an open invitation to the town, the region and the public at large. "We want to create an atmosphere that is unlike anywhere else," explains Uwe Hans Werner, Head of the Audi Forum Neckarsulm. This new visitor attraction is all set to draw visitors from well outside the Heilbronn-Franconia region.