German carmaker Audi has apologised for using an "insensitive image" in an advert after it drew criticism on social media.
The image of a young girl eating a banana in front of a high-performance car was posted on Twitter on Sunday, captioned: "Lets your heart beat faster - in every aspect."
The image quickly drew criticism from people on social media, as some pointed out the dangers of placing a small child in front of the car.
"Nice, that you show how children can easily be killed by your cars. You can't even see them out of the car," one person commented.
Others claimed the image was "sexually suggestive", as bananas and sports were "symbols of male lust".
Audi in response apologised on Monday, saying it never intended to hurt anyone's feelings.
"We sincerely apologise for this insensitive image and ensure that it will not be used in the future," it wrote on Twitter.
"We will also immediately examine internally, how this campaign has been created and if control mechanisms failed in this case."
