Press Releases
18 May 2012
AUDI CONFIRMED TODAY AS SPONSOR OF CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB
'Vorsprung durch Technik' comes to Stamford Bridge in new 3-year contract
Audi UK has today confirmed that it is to become the official car partner of Chelsea Football club for the next three years. The premium German car aker has added the successful London club to its impressive and long-standing sponsorship portfolio that also includes the clubs FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Bayern Munich.
FA Cup winners Chelsea, who play Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final on Saturday, are ranked as the fifth largest team in the world in terms of fan base. Their stadium at Stamford Bridge will feature Audi branding for home matches, including the distinctive team seats in the dugout.
Commenting on the development, Audi UK Director Martin Sander said: "Chelsea offers us the broadest scope for future opportunities, and our brands are very closely aligned in terms of innovation and progressiveness or 'Vorsprung durch Technik' as we call it."
"Their focus on high performance and sports science, where we are looking to share knowledge and best practice between their top performers and Audi elite racing drivers, demonstrates how perfectly Chelsea's forward-looking philosophy matches ours"
Chelsea Chief Executive Ron Gourlay said today: 'It is wonderful for Chelsea Football Club to sign this deal with a premium company, renowned for its excellent track record in elite performance and manufacturing. 'Audi is a phenomenal global partner for us as one of the world's most successful car brands, and we look forward to working closely with them.
Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales of AUDI AG added "We cordially welcome Chelsea to the Audi football family. With its more than 100-year tradition, millions of supporters worldwide and numerous trophies, the club is one of the top teams in international football and we are looking forward to working together in the future. But for the moment, we're anticipating a thrilling finale in Munich together with all football fans."
As one of the World's most successful car brands, AUDI AG delivered a record 1.3 million premium vehicles worldwide in 2011 and generated a record 5.3 billion Euros of pre-tax profit last year alone. The company has a strong and rising brand image as a mature global premium manufacturer.
In the UK Audi delivered more than 113,000 new cars to its customers, an increase of 14 per cent over 2010 and an all time record for the company which now offers an impressive 41 different model types here.
Note to Editors
In 2011 Audi recorded its best ever worldwide result of 1,302,650 sales, a 19 per cent improvement over 2010. In the UK, 113,703 Audi models found homes last year, a 14 per cent increase on 2010. To sustain the technological lead embodied in its Vorsprung durch Technik slogan, the brand plans to invest €13 billion, mainly in new products, between 2011 and 2015. By this point, its range will have expanded from today's 39 models to a total of 42. Recent additions, including the new generation A4 and A5 ranges, the Q3 compact SUV and the A1 Sportback, will be joined by, among others, the all-new A3 compact hatchback and the R8 e-tron, the first fully electric series-production Audi model which arrives in late 2012. On the race circuit, Audi Sport has competed in the Le Mans 24 hour race 13 times since 1999, achieving a podium finish on all of these occasions as well as outright victory 10 times. In 2011, Audi won Le Mans with an entirely new TDI diesel-powered 'closed' coupe sports prototype, the Audi R18.
Robin Davies, Telephone: 01908 601407
Product Affairs Manager e-mail: robin.davies@audi.co.uk
Kate Dixon, Telephone: 01908 601629
Media Relations Manager e-mail: kate.dixon@audi.co.uk
Juliet Carrington, Telephone: 01908 601016
Press Fleet and e-mail: juliet.carrington@audi.co.uk
VIP Relations Manager
David Ingram, Telephone: 01908 601413
PR Manager - Product and e-mail: david.ingram@audi.co.uk
Technology
Jon Zammett, Telephone: 01908 601455
Head of Public Relations e-mail: jon.zammett@audi.co.uk
