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Just because it's easier and neater to put on the back of the car, so branding is easier. You can't really stick 143 TDi on the back, it starts looking a bit clumsy.
I don't know what it's like in Europe (or outside of that for that matter), but I have some coworkers who I'd say are the Audi target market (white, male, middle aged, making good money) who are currently having a strop over moving from HP to PS in car specs, and have an absolute meltdown when they see kW.
Don't get me wrong, I like a good solid horse power number as well. But Audi sells a lot of cars to posh guys who don't really like cars, they like status symbols. This badge allows them to say "I have the highest status symbol" in an easier way. Looks a bit silly to us nerds who love old fashioned horse power, but Graeme, the middle manager in a training company, who just wants to feel good when he pulls up at a clients meeting in his Audi, doesn't care about the power, he cares about having a status symbol. So now he can say he has the 50.
On a little bit of a side story, I have a co-worker called Graeme (I'm so imaginative when it comes to names), who had an Audi TT and traded it in and bought a black Jaguar XE. Was bottom of the range, but a bottom of the range Jag is still absolutely lovely. It was a beautiful machine. A week later he pulled into work with a grey Jaguar XE, with a completely different kit on it. He quite literally bought a new car after a week, and went with the XE Sport. He admitted he lost thousands going from one Jag to another in the space of a week, but he said he wanted a nicer one, with bigger wheels and a better badge because it looks better. He has no idea what power it produces - but it's got a sport badge! And black plastic on the mirrors! So it must be good!
That's what Audi are aiming for. People like him who want an easy to identify badge. It's all about the status symbol. I'll take horsepower any day!
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