German luxury car maker Audi has replaced its iconic four-spoke logo. Everyone on social media was shocked by this move of the company. This logo has been a symbol of luxury cars since the 1930s. But now the new E Concept has been ditched from the Electric Sportback. The new car has 'AUDI' written in letters instead of the four rings. The change has been made specifically to attract young Chinese consumers.
Why was the logo changed? Audi's new logo is part of a co-development project for electric vehicles with SAIC Motors. The decision is made to increase Audi's share of the fast-growing electric and hybrid auto market in China. In recent years, China's automobile market, the world's largest, has been rapidly moving toward electric and hybrid vehicles. Here local brands and foreign automakers are giving tough challenge to big brands like Audi. For this reason, Audi and SAIC have made this change to strengthen their hold in China. There will be no change in all Audi cars currently available in India and globally. It will be available with its old logo only.
Old logo and new logo
What was the meaning of the four rings logo? Audi's four rings logo was not only a design, but also had historical and cultural significance. In 1932, Germany's four major automobile companies merged to form “Auto Union AG”. These four companies were Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. Each ring symbolizes these four companies. This merger was done to deal with the economic crisis of the time and to strengthen the German automobile industry.
People's reactions on social media This new logo of Audi has started a new discussion on social media. People are looking at it from different points of view. Some are seeing it as a modern development of the brand, while others are upset with the old logo change.
1909 The Audi brand was launched on July 16, 1909. At this time, Audi did not have any rings. Audi is the nickname of its founder, which means “hearing”.
1909-1910 A new logo was seen when the car was launched. It was designed in black and white colors, with the company name inside a black triangle. Above it was like a number logo, which meant that the Audi car was at the forefront of the market.
1932-1949 The Audi logo that was changed at this time was the same as the previous logo, only the font of the company name written in a triangle was changed, so that it could be easily understood by people.
1932-1949 Audi cars have featured the four rings logo since 1932. The reason behind this was Audi's merger with three companies.
1949-1969 During this time the words 'Auto Union' were added between the four rings of the Audi logo. The logo also reflected the unity of these companies and the strength of the union.
1969 The logo that came in 1969 was kept for only one year. That year NSU Motorenwerke AG partnered with Audi and Audi NSU was written between large black rectangles.
1969-1978 By this time, Audi had come under the Volkswagen Group, causing the Audi logo to change once again. A blue color was used and the Audi name was removed from the logo and the four rings were incorporated.
1978-1995 In 1978, the black color of the car logo was replaced by red, with Audi written in white letters. White and red were brought to symbolize courage, activity and energy.
1995-2009 1995 saw a drastic change in the Audi logo. It featured silver rings with 3D effect for the first time. Also, Audi lettering was given below them.
2009-2016 2009 saw Audi written in red under the silver rings. Its size was also reduced from earlier.
2016-2024 In 2016, designers significantly simplified the Audi logo. It was painted black and the 3D effect was removed.
2024 The car has 'AUDI' written in letters instead of four rings. The reason behind it is to attract young Chinese consumers.
Jaguar also changed the logo Notably, British luxury car manufacturing company Jaguar has changed its old logo. Jaguar Company is a very old car manufacturing company, which has introduced many types of cars for the last 89 years. Now the company's full focus is on electric cars. Jaguar will introduce a new electric car model at Miami Art Week on December 3. Due to this, the company has changed its old logo and launched a new logo. Jaguar's new logo combines uppercase and lowercase letters. It has G and U written in capital letters. The logo is designed in golden color.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
