Audi Summer Tour: Audi and FC Bayern Munich take to the pitch in an important growth market
- The brand with the four rings presents the Audi Q8 e-tron with the design of the new FC Bayern away jersey during its market launch in Japan
- The Audi Football Summit in Tokyo: FC Bayern plays friendly match against Champions League winners Manchester City
- Additional pre-season matches in Tokyo against Kawasaki Frontale and in Singapore against Liverpool FC
The Audi Summer Tour 2023 will see FC Bayern Munich travel to Asia from July 24 to August 3 ahead of the start of the new season. There, the reigning German champions will meet treble winners Manchester City with former FCB coach Pep Guardiola, among other rivals. New signings Raphaël Guerreiro and Konrad Laimer are among the travelling party. The brand with the four rings is also bringing a new member along: the Audi Q8 e-tron, which is currently being launched in Japan. Other Asian markets will follow. Audi is reflecting the Summer Tour’s color scheme with special decals as a unique homage to FC Bayern.
From Tegernsee to Tokyo: After a training camp in Upper Bavaria, FC Bayern Munich is traveling to Asia together with its long-time partner Audi under the motto “A way to inspire”. The first stop on the Audi Summer Tour is Tokyo: At the Audi Football Summit in Japan’s capital, head coach Thomas Tuchel’s team will go up against English champions and Champions League winners Manchester City on July 26 (12:30 p.m., CEST). On July 29, the team faces Japanese top-league club Kawasaki Frontale (12 p.m., CEST). The next day, Germany’s record champion club will fly on to Singapore: At the Singapore Trophy presented by Audi, FC Bayern will face Liverpool FC, managed by coach Jürgen Klopp on August 2 (1:30 p.m., CEST). RTL will broadcast the high-profile friendly matches against Manchester City and Liverpool FC live on free television in Germany at noon. The games, including the match against Kawasaki Frontale, can also be viewed on pay-TV channel Sky. This is the eighth time that the brand with the four rings has given its name to, and partnered with, FC Bayern Munich’s Audi Summer Tour.
“Our partnership with FC Bayern Munich shows: We live progress! We’re also demonstrating this with the Audi Summer Tour in Japan and Singapore, with sporting events and fascinating experiences in strong solidarity with our partner FC Bayern Munich. Asia is of great importance to Audi as our most important growth market. I’m delighted that we are now expanding our product portfolio with the launch of the Audi Q8 e-tron and further strengthening our e-offensive in Asia in the long term,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG.
The Audi Q8 e-tron with the design of the new FC Bayern away jersey
The Audi Q8 e-tron, which will join the FC Bayern Munich team on its trip to Asia, is getting special decals. With the colors black, green, and purple, they reflect the color scheme of the Audi Summer Tour.
Andreas Jung, Executive Board Member responsible for marketing at FC Bayern said: “This year, the Audi Summer Tour offers our fans in Asia the opportunity to experience FC Bayern players live for the first time in five years. We are looking forward to our time in Tokyo and Singapore, where our fan base across the region continues to grow. We want to create even more enthusiasm for soccer there and, together with our partners, inspire people beyond the pitch itself.”
FC Bayern Munich is making its first guest appearance in Japan since 2008; on its last visit to Asia in 2017, the team stopped at China and Singapore.
Top model features over 40 driver assistance systems
As the successor to the electric pioneer, the Audi e-tron, the Audi Q8 e-tron stands out with an optimized drive concept, improved aerodynamics, and higher charging performance and battery capacity. All these innovations make for an increased range up to 600 kilometers (under the WLTP standard) for the Sportback model. The new model from Ingolstadt also offers maximum space and comfort. The features of the Q8 e-tron also meet the demands of discerning Japanese customers, who see the brand with the four rings as a progressive player in the BEV segment.
Among other achievements, the electric SUV and crossover top model sets new standards with its luxury-class interior, which is even brighter thanks to the power panoramic glass roof. Like in all luxury-class models from Audi, the Q8 e-tron also uses the MMI touch response operating system. Practically all the car’s features can be activated via two high-resolution touch displays. In addition, the Audi Q8 e-tron provides drivers with approximately 40 driver assistance systems.
The brand with the four rings and FC Bayern Munich have been partners since 2002; their partnership was recently extended until 2029. Audi has also been a shareholder in FC Bayern München AG since 2011.
