R. L. Polk & Co has recently handed Audi its newly introduced “Most Improved Loyalty to Make” award.

This award can be validated by the stats, with Audi recording a 4.9% increase in consumer loyalty during 2009, which the elated recipients announced during the 14th Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards in Detroit.

This is a huge boost for Audi’s marketing efforts, as they have invested heavily throughout 2009, establishing a consumer relationship that transpires beyond a single model or series.

The award honours automotive brands is based on which manufacturer has the greatest percentage point increase. The growth of Audi’s brand surprised all at the ceremony. However, with an astounding growth of 4.9%, either Audi’s expanding reach is being overlooked or happening very much under-the-radar.

Stephen Polk, chairman, president and CEO of R. L. Polk asserted Audi’s latest achievement by saying “This is not an easy task to accomplish, which speaks volumes about the momentum that Audi has acquired in recent years.” And who would argue? Over the last few years Audi have gone beyond attracting interest and using incentives to retain customers, and worked on building a unique bond with its current consumer base and cultivated an equally unique brand image to attract new customers.

Johan de Nysschen, President of Audi America was humbled by Polk’s recognition, stating after the ceremony: “The recognition by R. L. Polk validates the work of the Audi employees and dealers in creating this lasting bond.”

Audi have surpassed all other brands in the market with regards to increased loyalty and will be confident of achieved the same feat for 2010.

Vorsprung durch Technik is usually translated as “progress through technology” but to describe Audi’s progressive evolution and advancements in the premium car manufacturing field, a more suitable translation would be “advancement through technology”.

With 33 models worldwide whose average CO2 emissions are below the 140g/km, Audi have earned the leading position among the premium car manufacturers and – thanks to the Vorsprung durch Technik philosophy – the company has plans to reduce fleet CO2 emissions by another 20% by 2012.

Proof of that, is the newly launched Audi A3 1.6 TDI which was already the “greenest” car in the premium sector. An accolade Audi have managed to crack by reaching the 100g/km mark a long with CO2 emissions of only 99g/km associated with an impressive fuel consumption of 74.3mpg.

But Audi’s environmental concern goes beyond its vehicles and optimised assembly lines. Audi has taken a literal approach to the proverbial “green shoots of recovery” and is funding the reforestation of the Kösching Forest, destroyed in 2007 by dark beetles and heavy storms.

The Korsching Forest is located near Audi Headquarters in Ingolstadt where Audi is funding the planting of 36,000 oak trees that will cover a total six hectares which will be the basis of the “Oak Forest CO2 Reservoir”. The initiative is a partnership between Audi, the Bavarian State Forestry and the Chair of Forest Yield Science at the Technical University of Munich.

Reforesting the Korsching Forest is just the tip of the iceberg of Audi’s environmental commitment as plans are underway for additional sites at international locations such as Audi’s production site in Gyor, Hungary, where 13,000 Pedunculate Oaks will be planted covering an area of 4 hectares.

The newly sown forest is a particularly tangible indicator of the Audi’s commitment to sustainability and environmental protection, but it is just one example of the numerous measures the prestige car manufacturer is implementing to conserve resources in both the cars themselves and in their production.

Ever wondered what goes inside of Audi HQ in Ingolstadt? With Audi’s latest online campaign (Audi Interactive Brand Experience) you can get behind the scenes and experience for yourself the raw engineering and painstaking detail that goes into manufacturing at Audi.

What Audi have created is essentially a virtual tour of their production site at Ingolstadt, which guides visitors through the process of making an Audi – from the development areas, all the way to the quality inspection phase.

Highlights of the tour include the Audi Wind Tunnel Centre in the development area, and the award winning Audi A3 Assembly Line.

If this sort of thing floats your boat, click the link below for an interactive tour of the Ingolstadt plant, where the Audi A3, Audi A4, Audi A5 and Audi Q5 car lines are built.

http://www.audi.com/com/brand/en/company/locations/ingolstadt.html

Once you finished the virtual tour, we would like to hear your opinion about it. Just visit our blog and share your thoughts via our comments section.

Set to be the flagship on the A5 model range, the Audi RS5 is one of the most talked about vehicles these days. Rumours about the RS5 are flooding automotive publications on and off line, which strongly indicates that we should expect an official announcement by Audi headquarters soon.

While some believe the Audi RS5 will be unveiled at next year’s Geneva Motor Show, others are betting on Audi surprising everybody by showcasing the RS5 next month during the 2009 Essen Motor Show in Germany.

An aspirated 4.2 FSI V8 is set to power the Audi RS5, incorporating the new HDZ concept which allows a free flowing high revving affair with high torque levels available from 2500rpm, making the RS5 the second highest revving car powered by a V8 engine, losing only to the new Ferrari 458.

Power is nothing without control and Audi knows that very well, that is why the Audi RS5 is feature the companies top notch transmission system, the 7-speed S-Tronic, capable of handling up to 50 Nm of torque.

During the 2009 IAA, better known as the Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi presented the e-tron concept, a high-performance sports car with a purely electric drive system. Four motors, two each at the front and rear axles drive the wheels, making the concept car a true quattro.

Producing 230 kW (313 hp) and 4,500 Nm (3,319.03 lb-ft) of torque, the two-seater accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (0 62.14 mph) in 4.8 seconds, and from 60 to 120 km/h (37.28 74.56 mph) in 4.1 seconds. The lithium-ion battery provides a truly useable energy content of 42.4 kilowatt hours to enable a range of approximately 248 kilometres.

The performance figures are by no means the only evidence of the consistent and holistic strategy. The design makes it clear that the e-tron belongs in the major leagues of sports cars, and the package takes into account the specific realities of an electric vehicle. The battery is directly behind the passenger cabin for an optimal centre of gravity and axle load distribution.

The Audi e-tron is able to freely distribute the powerful torque of its four electric motors to the wheels as required. This so-called torque vectoring allows for dazzling dynamics and an undreamed-of level of agility and precision when cornering.

Audi has taken a new and in some cases revolutionary approach to many of the technical modules. A heat pump is used to efficiently warm up and heat the interior. The drive system, the power electronics and the battery are controlled by an innovative thermal management system that is a crucial component for achieving the cars range without compromising its high level of interior comfort.

Networking the vehicle electronics with the surroundings, which is referred to as car-to-x communication, opens new dimensions for the optimization of efficiency, safety and convenience.

The e-tron concept might sound too futuristic but it is soon to become a reality as it is set to top the range of the upcoming Audi R4.

In the same week the first Audi A1 test mule was spotted in an unidentified location on the continent, Audi confirms that the Audi A1 model range is in the pipelines and A1 variants will emerge gradually over the next few years.

Speaking to Car Magazine, one of the biggest automotive publications in the UK, Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi AG board member for sales and marketing confirmed more intel on the Audi A1 model range.

With regards to the design there will be no substantial changes to initial concept,

Metroproject Quattro and A1 Sportback.

Mr. Schwarzenbauer also admitted that Audi has plans for a complete line of Audi A1 variants, in his own words: “We will start with the three-door version with several different engine variants,”

This leads us to the conclusion that will see a three-door A1 hatchback (based on the 2007 Metroproject concept) first. After will come a five-door Audi A1 Sportback, then an Audi A1 Cabriolet or maybe an Audi S1 and finally, an Audi A1 Avant or SUV based model. Audi Q1 anyone?

Officially confirmed for the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March, our continental fellows will have the pleasure to drive it first as sales starts next summer, while we’ll have to wait till September to get our hand on an Audi A1.

The Audi A1 resembles a clear intent of Audi tackling the smaller-sized premium sector and by what we have seen so far, it is highly capable of doing so. UK prices should be around 11,000.

Last week, we reported that the Audi A3 assembly line has earned the Automotive Lean Production Award for streamed line production processes and exemplary excellence; as promised today we’ll look into detail at this highly efficient assembly process.

The Audi A3 assembly line established an industry benchmark thanks to Audi’s philosophy of focusing on continuous improvement.

At the Ingolstadt site, 1,800 employees work in a three-shift schedule to assemble approximately 800 units of Audi A3 and Audi A3 Sportback every day. In total the assembly sector encompasses 28,000 square meters incorporating more than 150 distinct processes via a streamlined chain of operations and seamless workflow which are the product of continuous improvements.

The A3 assembly process is firmly focused on the employees with an emphasis on ergonomics, cushioned floor coverings, perfectly organized material magazines and an ergonomically designed assembly seat facilitates the installation of head airbags.

What is more fascinating is that simple ideas often have the greatest impact and nearly all improvements are suggested by the employees themselves.

Peter Kessler Plant Manager at the Audi Ingolstadt site, said:

“Our employees drive our progress, and their expertise is our primary asset. Their supply of suggestions is inexhaustible and we implement every good idea as speedily as possible. An improvement in ergonomics automatically boosts quality and enhances efficiency.”

One of the principles that most impressed the Automotive Lean Production Award Judges about the Audi A3 assembly line, was the One-Touch-One-Motion principle, which denotes the possibility of completing a task with a single hand motion thanks to intelligently positioned materials and equipment.

Adjacent areas to the Audi A3 assembly line also play an important role in the overall workflow. Arrangement and pre-assembled parts organized in a fishbone configuration near the line guarantee the smooth flow of the process.

Audi knows that a happy employee is a motivated employee that is why Audi has an employee suggestions scheme where employees can suggest improvements and modifications to help make the assembly line more efficient, if a suggestion is approved and it saves Audi money a considerable share of this is paid in gratitude to the contributing employee.

Last year alone Audi received 33,460 suggestions worldwide which consequently saved Audi 50 million Euros.

Audi couldn’t ask for a better year to celebrate its 100 years of car making history, and what a year it has been for the Ingolstadt Company so far. Awards of all sorts, special marquees at renowned auto shows like the Goodwood festival of Speed and the Frankfurt Auto Show, not the mention the introduction of highly efficient engines, new models and ultra-innovative concept cars.

Last week, Audi just added two new accolades to its collection, the first comes from the biggest internet poll in the automotive industry, the online auto portal “AutoScout24″ conducted its 8th Internet Auto Award and guess what, Audi achieved an amazing total of four first places.

The Audi A3 defended its title in compact class and finished top for the second year in a row, while the Audi A4 reigned in the midsize class. In the upper midsize class the Audi A6 knocked down some tough competition to finish first and last but not least the Audi R8 topped the sports cars and coupe category.

The Autoscout24 poll is aimed to find Europe’s most popular cars, the voting was carried out in several languages, voter could choose from 331 vehicles in 9 categories and over 250,000 votes were computed.

Meanwhile the assembly line for the Audi A3 and Audi A3 Sportback won the Automotive Lean Production Award for streamed line production processes and exemplary excellence via efficient and economical approaches.

If you want to find out what is Audi’s secret to such a highly efficient assembly line don’t miss our next post were we’ll look into detail at the Audi A3 assembly process.

As Peter Kössler, Plant Manager at the Audi Ingolstadt site said:

“Today’s state of the art is only temporary – tomorrow we will be even better.”

When it comes to fuel efficiency, low CO2 emissions and high performance, Audi leads the way among the premium car manufacturers. To confirm the efficiency excellence of its models, Audi has put 20 models to the test in a long distance trip through Europe which the company named “Efficiency Challenge A to B”.

“Audi’s Efficiency Challenge A to B” will cover exact 4,182Km through Europe in 9 days, from A on the Lofoten archipelago in Norway to Bée on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy.

To prove that efficiency is a standard in every Audi, the company is not only putting to test its optimised fuel efficient models but also the top sporty models of each line, in total Audi has lined up five model series for this Efficiency Challenge.

The Efficiency challenge will also mark the day view for the ultra-efficient Audi A3 1.6 TDI with CO2 emissions of only 99g/Km who will be joined by other models including the more sportive S3 Sportback.

Other models taking part on “Audi’s Efficiency Challenge A to B” are the Audi A4 TDI e, the 333hp Audi S4, Audi A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI, the Audi A5 Sportback 3.2 FSI. Representing the Audi Q7 family will be the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI clean diesel quattro and the more powerful Audi Q7 6.0 TDI quattro.

The TT range is also taking part on the Challenge with models like the Audi TT 2.0 TDI quattro and the top of the range Audi TT RS.

This Efficiency Challenge will also serve to highlight even further the effectiveness of Audi’s modular efficiency platform which brings together a broad portfolio of highly effective technologies.

The tour which already started the past Tuesday September 22nd has been broken down into three stages, each consisting of several days. The first runs from Å to Trondheim in southern Norway; the second to the German capital city of Berlin; and the third ends at the final destination on Wednesday September 30 at the town of Bée overlooking Lake Maggiore. The tour includes a wide range of roads and landscapes, taking participants along the coastal roads on the Lofoten islands and across Germany’s autobahns. The route encompasses impressive cities such as Oslo, Copenhagen and Prague as well as the towering mountains of the Alps.

We want to hear from you now. Which Audi model do you think will have the best fuel efficiency?

Leave your opinion in our comments section and make sure you don’t miss our follow up article with the challenge figures.

Social Media is an online phenomenon that can not be avoided anymore and an essential part of any successful online marketing campaign nowadays, be it for a small company or a huge corporation.

Audi is well aware of that and is it seems to be doing a pretty good job with its social media efforts, prove to that are the 300,000 fans on Audi’s Facebook fan page.

Such a powerful community can bring great ideas and enormous feedback, with that in mind Audi teamed with online video creation and advertising company, TurnHere, to create a video driven social media package profiling Audi’s participation in the “Youth Mobile 2030” design challenge.

Audi is asking its Facebook community to provide insight on the features and functionalities they’d like to see in the year 2030, and the videos are to serve as inspiration and encourage fans to participate in Team Audi’s effort.

For a full details on how to participate in this discussion read Audi Asking its Facebook Fans for Ideas or visit Audi Facebook Fan Page here.