“Our product and quality initiative continues to bear fruit. This important award goes to our entire Audi team,” Stadler said at the award presentation. “Without their contributions, our success would not be possible.”

Reasons for the success of the Audi brand, according to ADAC, include technical advances and an astonishing variety of new models along with careful brand management and the use of a consistent design language. This has allowed Audi to develop into a premium brand that represents high prestige.

Audi took one of the top positions in almost every category measured, and bested the competition in particular when it came to image and technology. The brand was also among the front-runners in the areas of efficiency and quality.

Audi was able to celebrate additional top rankings while accepting the “Yellow Angel” award. The compact Audi A2 took second place in breakdown statistics, while the Audi A5 came in second as Germany’s most popular car for 2008, closely followed by the new A4 (fourth place) and the R8 (fifth). This rounded out the successful overall picture for the Audi brand.

AutoMarxX is the most comprehensive national informational measurement of the effectiveness and image of car brands. The study, which is carried out multiple times each year by ADAC and the Gelsenkirchen University of Applied Sciences, includes 33 carmakers. The study considers the criteria of brand image, brand strength, customer satisfaction, breakdown statistics, environmental compatibility and product quality. AutoMarxX has been computed since September 2001. Audi has been the winner on the last three occasions.