Dear Ladies and Gentlemen

ABT Sportsline is the largest tuning provider for vehicles from the Volkswagen and Audi Group and also implements numerous motorsports activities for the brand with the four rings. But in a company with over 125 years of history, we also value our roots. I think roots are important for a stable foundation, but without tying us down. My ancestors already believed in this principle. One of them, Johann Abt, a blacksmith, founded an innovation workshop in 1896 where new ideas were literally forged: instead of limiting himself to producing horseshoes and repairing horse-drawn carriages, he invented a carriage which could also be used as a sleigh in the harsh, snowy winters – a true hybrid. Since then, our family-run company has continuously developed further. Like a mountain stream that grinds a pebble down, pushing it further and further into ever larger bodies of water, the passing of time and the spirit of innovation of many generations have brought us ever further forward. The love for cars grew in our hearts and minds early on.

When Johann Abt, the grandson of our founder, completed his first car race in 1950 and laid the cornerstone for our motorsports activities, AUTO-ABT in Kempten, Bavaria, had already existed for a while. My father appreciated fast cars during everyday life as well. For this reason, he founded ABT Tuning in 1967. He tuned the first VW Golf in 1978 and already launched the first chip tuning product in 1980. After that, things moved very quickly. In 1991, the new prestigious company headquarters were established on what is now the “Johann-Abt-Street”. In 2014, an impressive motorsports center was added which also includes its own museum.

My son Daniel Abt is also following in these footsteps which were made by me and a number of busy ancestors. But he is already leaving his own tracks and goes with the time: as a Youtuber, at ABT Sportsline and of course as a former racing driver in Formula E, where we even took the title with Lucas di Grassi in 2017.

Thank you for joining us on our mission

Hans-Jürgen Abt
CEO ABT Sportsline GmbH