• Premium brands extend collaboration until 2029
• Players of FC Bayern München to drive Audi e-tron
• Hildegard Wortmann, Board of Management Member of AUDI AG for Marketing and Sales: “Linking of two strong brands that stand for premium experiences”

Ingolstadt, January 14, 2020 – Audi and FC Bayern München are heading toward the future together: The two premium brands have been forming a strong team since 2002, and have prolonged and expanded the substance of their partnership until 2029. Audi is FC Bayern’s exclusive automobile partner. The next decade will be focused on strategic collaboration in the areas of innovative marketing and electrification. As a clear reference to this commitment, all licensed players of the record champion will receive an all-electric Audi e-tron in 2020.

The partnership between Audi and FC Bayern München is a success story: Since 2002, the brand with the four rings has been supporting the most successful German football club. Additionally, Audi has been a shareholder of FC Bayern München AG since 2011. Joint events and initiatives have been filling this collaboration with life. The Audi Cup, which in 2019 was held for the sixth time at the Allianz Arena, ranks among Europe’s high-caliber preparatory tournaments.

“FC Bayern München perfectly fits Audi’s new strategic direction,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Board of Management Member of AUDI AG for Marketing and Sales. The two strong brands are known for premium experiences worldwide. “We want to be close to our fans, customers and potential customers. As FC Bayern München’s exclusive automobile partner, we have the opportunity to present electric mobility and connectivity, and to turn them into tangible experiences.” Alexander Seitz, Board of Management Member of AUDI AG for Finance, China and Legal Affairs: “Our collaboration with FC Bayern as one of the top-flight international clubs with 650 million fans worldwide and 135 million fans just in China opens up new, joint marketing opportunities, especially including China, the most important growth market for Audi.”

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bayern München AG, says: “I am delighted about the early extension of our partnership with Audi. For FC Bayern, this agreement marks an important strategic move going forward. FC Bayern and Audi have been working together confidently, respectably and to the advantage of both brands for more than a decade and a half. Now it is assured that this partnership will continue throughout the nearly ten years ahead.”

Andreas Jung, Executive Board Member of FC Bayern München AG for Marketing, says: “Both Audi and FC Bayern value a forward-thinking focus and innovations on the one hand as well as consistency and dependability on the other. Both partners share a commitment to being ‘number one’ in Germany. We greatly look forward to many joint activations, to many joint events and to many more joint years with Audi.”

For the entire fleet provided by Audi to FC Bayern, an average maximum level of 95 grams of CO₂/km has been agreed to for the entire term of the agreement. This practically equates to the legal requirement to be met by manufacturers’ fleets as of January 2020. At least half of all vehicles will be electrified in the future.

By prolonging their agreement, both partners have a long-term planning horizon for further activities designed for sustainability. In terms of substance, the commitment is put on a new basis: The vehicle partnership under which all of FC Bayern’s stars and officials drive Audi models is turning into a strategic collaboration in a joint effort of advancing the areas of electrification and use of innovative marketing activities and dialog platforms. At the Allianz Arena, Audi’s visibility and the Audi experience will be enhanced for visitors, while at FC Bayern’s new flagship store in the heart of Munich, a diverse Audi offering will be available. Other projects of the future collaboration include charging columns, plus test drives around the Allianz Arena and at the FC Bayern campus and training facilities at Säbener Strasse.

Moreover, the joint commitment of AUDI AG and FC Bayern München is being intensively lived within the company’s own “Audi Fanclub FC Bayern.” With a membership of more than 6,000, it is the club’s biggest fan club worldwide. For the employees, the sponsoring commitment again encompasses numerous activities as well, such as employee specials at football matches, the Audi Cup and at meet-&-greet opportunities on the occasion of vehicle handovers to the players.

The new strategic partnership also includes the opportunity to carry out individual projects with other brands of the Volkswagen Group.

Audi has also extended the partnership with FC Bayern’s basketball players, which has existed since 2011, into 2023. “We are delighted to continue partnering with this young and trendy team in the coming years,” says Hildegard Wortmann. “The home matches at the Audi Dome and other joint events provide Audi with outstanding opportunities to inspire the enthusiasm of fans, customers and potential customers – especially from a young and digitally savvy target group – for our brand and products.” Audi is planning to expand its activities as a mobility partner in the coming years, focused on electrification, digitalization and mobility services. Players and officials will continue to drive Audi cars.