Sexist Audi advert under fire for comparing buying a car to choosing a wife

German car manufacturer Audi has come under fire for an advert aired in China that compares buying a vehicle to finding a wife.

The ad shows a woman having her mouth and face inspected carefully by her mother-in-law on her wedding day.

"What are you doing?" the groom asks before dragging his mother away.

At the end of the ad, a red Audi drives along a road as a man's voice states: "An important decision must be made carefully."

Audi has come under heavy criticism for the ad, branded a "disgusting" example of sexism. Some have called for the firm to be boycotted.

"Audi is being disgusting for making such ad," tweeted one person. "Women are not products and stop materialise them."

"I will not buy an Audi in this lifetime," another social media user said.

Earlier this year, Audi ran a Super Bowl commercial about the gender pay gap, which divided viewers.

In the ad, a young woman takes part in a go-karting contest while her father asks how he should explain to her that women still get paid less than men.

"Do I tell her that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than every man she ever meets? Or maybe, I'll be able to tell her something different," the man says.

Although many praised the company for raising the issue, some pointed out the hypocrisy of the ad as Audi has no women on its management board in the US.

This week, the UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) announced it would be cracking down on sexism and gender stereotyping in ads.