August Horch anniversary

The world is changing at a tremendous rate and it would be interesting to sit down with the founder of Audi, August Horch and discuss all that has happened in the past 150 years since his birth. The son of a blacksmith, August Horch was born on October 12, 1868, in Winningen on the Mosel River. In his early days he studied at a Mittweida Technical College, before joining Carl Benz in 1896 in Mannheim, where his passion for automotive was truly ignited. Here he headed vehicle construction until 1899, helping to shape the beginnings of automotive engineering. His entrepreneurial side also came to the fore and in the same year, he set up a small independent motor vehicle repair service in Cologne. 

Certainly not one to let the grass grow underneath his feet, Horch built his first car in 1901 and in 1902 he moved with his company to Reichenbach in Vogtland, finally locating the Horch Works in Zwickau just two years later.

In a series of events that have now become legendary, in 1909, following a dispute, August Horch left the company he founded and just a few weeks later established a second automotive plant. Unable to use his own name which was now linked to his first enterprise, Horch got around this in 1910 by using the name ‘Audi’ which is the Latin translation of his family name Horch.

The rest as they say is history and the Audi name has gone on to become one of the greatest in the automotive world – renowned for its innovation, motorsport prowess and superb luxury cars.

In 1920 he Horch resigned from the Board of Management of Audiwerke AG, in order henceforth serve as an expert and assessor in the field of automotive technology. With the establishment of Auto Union AG in June 1932, August Horch was appointed to the Supervisory Board of the new group of companies.

On February 3, 1951. Dr. h.c. August Horch passed away in Münchberg in Upper Franconia. His legacy though remains, and the Audi name continues as an automotive pioneer.