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Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in
Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...
,
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the
German Labour Front The German Labour Front (german: Deutsche Arbeitsfront, ; DAF) was the labour organisation under the Nazi Party which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power. History As early as March 1933, ...
under the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
and revived into a global brand post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by the British Army Officer
Ivan Hirst Major Ivan Hirst (1 March 1916 – 10 March 2000), was a British Army officer and engineer who was instrumental in reviving Volkswagen from a single factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, into a major postwar automotive manufacturer. Education Hirst was ...
, it is known for the iconic
Beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
and serves as the flagship brand of the
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
, the largest automotive manufacturer by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's biggest market is in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, which delivers 40 percent of its sales and profits. Its name is derived from the German-language terms and , translating to "people's car" when combined.


History


1932–1940: People's Car project

Volkswagen was established in 1937 by the
German Labour Front The German Labour Front (german: Deutsche Arbeitsfront, ; DAF) was the labour organisation under the Nazi Party which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power. History As early as March 1933, ...
(''Deutsche Arbeitsfront'') in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. In the early 1930s, cars were a luxury – most Germans could afford nothing more elaborate than a motorcycle and only one German out of 50 owned a car. Seeking a potential new market, some car makers began independent "people's car" projects – the Mercedes 170H, BMW 3/15, Adler AutoBahn, Steyr 55, and
Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and ...
1.3L, among others. The growing trend was not nascent;
Béla Barényi Béla Barényi (1 March 1907, Hirtenberg, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy – 30 May 1997, Böblingen, Germany) was an ethnic Hungarian engineer from Austria-Hungary, who was a prolific inventor, sometimes even compared to Thomas Edison. Barényi ma ...
, a pioneering automotive engineer, is credited as already having conceived the basic design during the mid-1920s.
Josef Ganz Josef Ganz (1 July 1898 – 26 July 1967) was a Jewish-German car designer born in Budapest, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Hungary). Early years Josef Ganz was born on 1 July 1898 into a Jewish family living in Budapest, then the second-largest ...
developed the Standard Superior (going as far as advertising it as the "German Volkswagen"). In Germany, the company
Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and ...
mass-produced the 2/10 PS "Kommissbrot", a small, cheap rear-engined car, from 1925 to 1928. Also, in Czechoslovakia, the
Hans Ledwinka Hans Ledwinka (14 February 1878 – 2 March 1967) was an Austrian automobile designer. Youth Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria), near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He started his career as a mechanic, a ...
designed
Tatra T77 The Czechoslovakian Tatra 77 (T77) is by many considered to be the first serial-produced, truly aerodynamically-designed automobile. It was developed by Hans Ledwinka and Paul Jaray, the Zeppelin aerodynamic engineer. Launched in 1934, the Tatra ...
, a very popular car amongst the German elite, was becoming smaller and more affordable at each revision.
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswag ...
, a well-known designer for high-end vehicles and race cars, had been trying for years to get a manufacturer interested in a small car suitable for a family. He built a car named the "Volksauto" from the ground up in 1933, using many popular ideas and several of his own, putting together a car with an air-cooled rear
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
,
torsion bar suspension A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end termi ...
, and a "beetle" shape, the front bonnet rounded for better
aerodynamic Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
s (necessary as it had a small engine). In 1934, with many of the above projects still in development or early stages of production,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
became involved, ordering the production of a basic vehicle capable of transporting two adults and three children at . He wanted a car every German family would be able to afford. The "People's Car" would be available through a savings plan at (US$396 in 1938)—about the price of a small motorcycle (the average income being around a week).William Shirer, ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'' (Touchstone Edition) (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990) It soon became apparent that private industry could not turn out a car for only . Thus, Hitler chose to sponsor an all-new, state-owned factory using Ferdinand Porsche's design (with some of Hitler's design suggestions, including an air-cooled engine so nothing could freeze). The intention was that German families could buy the car through a savings scheme (''"" – "Five Marks a week you must set aside, if in your own car you wish to ride''"), which around 336,000 people eventually paid into. However, the project was not commercially viable, and only government support was able to keep it afloat.Tooze notes: "Even if the war had not intervened, developments up to 1939 made clear that the entire conception of the 'people's car' was a disastrous flop." ''Tooze (2006) p.156''. Due to the outbreak of war in 1939, none of the participants in the savings scheme ever received a car. In 1950 a lawsuit was issued that, after 12 years of trial, ultimately provided a credit of 12% off the list price of a new VW base model or less than 5-times the value paid into the saving scheme. Prototypes of the car called the "KdF-Wagen" (German: ''
Kraft durch Freude NC Gemeinschaft (KdF; ) was a German state-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany. Richard Grunberger, ''The 12-Year Reich'', p. 197, It was part of the German Labour Front (german: link=no, Deutsche Arbeitsfront), the national labour or ...
'' "Strength through Joy") appeared from 1938 onwards (the first cars had been produced in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
). The car already had its distinctive round shape and
air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...
,
flat-four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...
, rear-mounted engine. The VW car was just one of many KdF programs, which included things such as tours and outings. The prefix ''Volks—'' ("People's") was not just applied to cars, but also to other products in Germany; the "
Volksempfänger The ''Volksempfänger'' (, "people's receiver") was a range of German radio receivers developed by engineer Otto Griessing at the request of Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda of the Nazi regime. The purpose of the ''Volksempfä ...
" radio receiver for instance. On 28 May 1937, ''Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH'' ("Company for the Preparation of the German Volkswagen Ltd."), or ''Gezuvor'' for short, was established by the
Deutsche Arbeitsfront The German Labour Front (german: Deutsche Arbeitsfront, ; DAF) was the labour organisation under the Nazi Party which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power. History As early as March 1933, t ...
in Berlin. More than a year later, on 16 September 1938, it was renamed to ''Volkswagenwerk GmbH''.Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 – The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG.
Erwin Komenda Erwin Komenda (6 April 1904 - 22 August 1966) was an Austrian automobile designer and Porsche employee, and a lead contributor to the design of the bodies for the VW Beetle and various Porsche sports cars. Erwin Komenda was born on 6 April 1904 ...
, the longstanding
Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm f ...
chief designer, part of Ferdinand Porsche's hand-picked team, developed the car body of the prototype, which was recognisably the
Beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
known today. It was one of the first cars designed with the aid of a
wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
—a method used for German aircraft design since the early 1920s. The car designs were put through rigorous tests and achieved a record-breaking million miles of testing before being deemed finished. The construction of the new factory started in May 1938 in the new town of "Stadt des KdF-Wagens" (renamed
Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...
after the war), which had been purpose-built for the factory workers. This factory had only produced a handful of cars by the time war started in 1939. None were actually delivered to any holder of the completed saving stamp books, though one Type 1 Cabriolet was presented to Hitler on 20 April 1944 (his 55th birthday).


1939–1944: Wartime production and Nazi concentration camp labour

War changed production to military vehicles—the Type 82 '' Kübelwagen'' ("Bucket car") utility vehicle (VW's most common wartime model), and the amphibious ''
Schwimmwagen The Volkswagen ''Schwimmwagen'' (literally "swimming car") was a four-wheel drive amphibious vehicle, used extensively by German ground forces during the Second World War. The ''Schwimmwagen'' is the most-produced amphibious car in history. Pro ...
''—manufactured for German forces. One of the first foreigners to drive a Volkswagen was the American war correspondent
Ernie Pyle Ernest Taylor Pyle (August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945) was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II. Pyle is also notable for the ...
, who had the use of a captured Volkswagen for a few days after the Allied victory in Tunisia in May 1943. As was common with much of the production in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
during the war,
slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
labour was utilised in the Volkswagen plant, e.g. from
Arbeitsdorf Arbeitsdorf ("work-village") was a Nazi concentration camp in Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben 1942. History and the purpose of the camp In 1936, a Czech engineer by the name of Ferdinand Porsche designed a prototype of a car that would be a ...
concentration camp. The company would admit in 1998 that it used 15,000 slaves during the war effort. German historians estimated that 80% of Volkswagen's wartime workforce was slave labour. Many of the slaves were reported to have been supplied from the
concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
upon request from plant managers. A lawsuit was filed in 1998 by survivors for restitution for the forced labour. Volkswagen would set up a voluntary restitution fund.


1945–1948: British military intervention

In April 1945, KdF-Stadt and its heavily bombed factory were captured by the
United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
and subsequently handed over to the British, within whose
occupation zone Germany was already de facto military occupation, occupied by the Allies of World War II, Allies from the real German Instrument of Surrender, fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 Octo ...
the town and factory fell. The factory was placed under the control of
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
officer Major
Ivan Hirst Major Ivan Hirst (1 March 1916 – 10 March 2000), was a British Army officer and engineer who was instrumental in reviving Volkswagen from a single factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, into a major postwar automotive manufacturer. Education Hirst was ...
,
REME The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...
, a civilian Military Governor with the occupying forces. At first, one plan was to use it for
military vehicle A military vehicle is any vehicle for land-based military transport and activity, including combat vehicles; both specifically designed for, or significantly used by military and armed forces. Most military vehicles require off-road capabiliti ...
maintenance, and possibly dismantle and ship it to Britain. Since it had been used for military production, (though not of KdF-Wagens) and had been in Hirst's words, a "political animal" rather than a commercial enterprise – technically making it liable for destruction under the terms of the
Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...
– the equipment could have been salvaged as
war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. R ...
. Allied dismantling policy changed in late 1946 to mid-1947, though heavy industry continued to be dismantled until 1951. One of the factory's wartime 'KdF-Wagen' cars had been taken to the factory for repairs and abandoned there. Hirst had it repainted green and demonstrated it to British Army headquarters. Short of light transport, in September 1945 the British Army was persuaded to place a vital order for 20,000 cars. However, production facilities had been massively disrupted, there was a refugee crisis at and around the factory, and some parts (such as
carburettors A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...
) were unavailable. Hirst and his German assistant
Heinrich Nordhoff Heinz Heinrich Nordhoff (6 January 1899 – 12 April 1968) was a German engineer who led the Volkswagen company as it was rebuilt after World War II. Life and career Nordhoff was born in Hildesheim, the son of a banker. He graduated from the Tech ...
(who went on to run the Wolfsburg facility after the military government ended in 1949) helped to stabilise the acute social situation while simultaneously re-establishing production. Hirst, for example, used his engineering experience to arrange the manufacture of carburettors, the original producers being effectively 'lost' in the Soviet zone. The first few hundred cars went to personnel from the occupying forces, and to
Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...
. Some British service personnel were allowed to take their
Beetles Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
back to the United Kingdom when they were
demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...
. In 1986, Hirst said that factory workers were, after many years of Nazi conditioning, initially reluctant to follow his orders; to counter this, he had his military uniform brought back from Britain and wore it in the factory, after which he reported having no problems even though he was no longer a soldier at the time but a civilian member of the military government. The post-war
industrial plans for Germany The industrial plans for Germany were designs the Allies considered imposing on Germany in the Aftermath of World War II to reduce and manage Germany's industrial capacity. Background At the Potsdam conference (July–August 1945), with the US ...
set out rules that governed which industries Germany was allowed to retain. These rules set German car production at a maximum of 10% of 1936 car production. By 1946, the factory produced 1,000 cars a month even though it was still in disrepair. Owing to roof and window damage, production had to stop when it rained, and the company had to barter new vehicles for steel for production. The car and its town changed their Second World War-era names to "Volkswagen" and "
Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...
" respectively, and production increased. It was still unclear what was to become of the factory. It was offered to representatives from the American, Australian, British, and French motor industries who all rejected it. After an inspection of the plant, Sir William Rootes, head of the British
Rootes Group The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and dea ...
, told Hirst the project would fail within two years, and that the car "...is quite unattractive to the average motorcar buyer, is too ugly and too noisy. If you think you're going to build cars in this place, you're a bloody fool, young man." The official report said: "To build the car commercially would be a completely uneconomic enterprise." Ford representatives were equally critical. In March 1948, the British offered the Volkswagen company to Ford, free of charge.
Henry Ford II Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...
, the son of
Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...
, travelled to
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
for discussions. Heinz Nordhoff was also present, as well as Ernest Breech, chairman of the board for Ford. Henry Ford II looked to Breech for his opinion, and Breech said, "Mr. Ford, I don't think what we're being offered here is worth a damn!" Ford passed on the offer, leaving Volkswagen to rebuild itself under Nordhoff's leadership.


1948–1961: Icon of post-war West Germany

From 1948, Volkswagen became an important element, symbolically and economically, of West German regeneration.
Heinrich Nordhoff Heinz Heinrich Nordhoff (6 January 1899 – 12 April 1968) was a German engineer who led the Volkswagen company as it was rebuilt after World War II. Life and career Nordhoff was born in Hildesheim, the son of a banker. He graduated from the Tech ...
(1899–1968), a former senior manager at
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
who had overseen civilian and military vehicle production in the 1930s and 1940s, was recruited to run the factory in 1948. In 1949, Major Hirst left the company—now re-formed as a trust controlled by the West German government and government of the State of
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
. The "Beetle" sedan or "peoples' car" Volkswagen is the Type 1. Apart from the introduction of the
Volkswagen Type 2 The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US), Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the Ge ...
commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. The United States defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to ...
(van, pick-up, and camper), and the VW Karmann Ghia sports car, Nordhoff pursued the one-model policy until shortly before his death in 1968. Volkswagens were first exhibited and sold in the United States in 1949 but sold only two units in America that first year. On entry to the US market, the VW was briefly sold as a ''Victory Wagon''.
Volkswagen of America Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (sometimes referred to as Volkswagen of America, abbreviated to VWoA), is the North American operational headquarters, and subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group of automobile companies of Germany. VWoA is responsi ...
was formed in April 1955 to standardise sales and service in the United States. Production of the Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle increased dramatically over the years, the total reaching one million in 1955. The UK's first official Volkswagen importer, Colborne Garages of
Ripley, Surrey Ripley is a village in Surrey, England. The village has existed since Norman times – the chancel of the church of St. Mary Magdalen shows construction of circa 1160 there and supporting feet of fines and ecclesiastical records mention the ...
, started business with importing parts for the models brought home by soldiers returning from Germany. Canadian Motors, Limited brought in Canada's first shipment of Volkswagens on 10 July 1952 (shipping order 143075). The order consisted of 12 vehicles, (3) model 11C, a black, green, and sand colour (3) 11GS, a chestnut brown and two azure blue, (2) 24A-M51 in red, (1) 21A in blue, (1) 23A in blue, (1) 22A beige colour, and one ambulance. Volkswagens were seen in Canada for the first time at the Canadian National Exhibition in August 1952 and were accepted enthusiastically. (At least one Type 2 bus from this order still exists, and is currently in France undergoing restoration). The first shipment for Volkswagen Canada reached Toronto in early December 1952. (At least one Type 1 from this first shipment still exists, and was driven on a nationwide tour for Volkswagen Canada's 60th year of business festivities in 2012). By 1955, sales warranted the building of the Volkswagen plant on a site on Scarborough's
Golden Mile Golden Mile or The Golden Mile may refer to: Geographical features * Golden Mile (Belfast), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (UK) * Golden Mile (Blackpool), Blackpool, UK * Golden Mile (Brentford), Brentford, UK * Golden Mile (Leices ...
. To this, a building with administration, showrooms, service, repairs and parts was built in 1957, with storage for $4,000,000 of parts. In 1959, VW started production at a plant near São Paulo in Brazil. Volkswagen do Brasil was accused of spying on workers during the time of the military dictatorship in the 1970s and informing police on oppositional activities. In 1976, mass arrests occurred and some VW employees were tortured. In 1979, Brazilian VW workers travelled to Wolfsburg to inform the CEO in person. In 2015, activists and former VW employees in Brazil spoke out in public accused the company's silence about the persecution of its workers. In fall 2016, VW commissioned an expert review of the situation due end of 2017. On 22 August 1960, ''Volkswagenwerk GmbH'' was renamed to ''Volkswagenwerk AG''. Sales soared throughout the 1960s, peaking at the end of the decade thanks in part to the famous advertising campaigns by New York advertising agency Doyle, Dane Bernbach. Led by art director
Helmut Krone Helmut Krone (July 16, 1925 – April 12, 1996) was an art director and is considered to be a pioneer of modern advertising. Krone spent over 30 years at the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach. He was the art director for the popular 1960s campa ...
, and copywriters
Julian Koenig Julian Norman Koenig (; April 22, 1921 – June 12, 2014) was an American copywriter. He was inducted into The One Club Creative Hall of Fame in 1966. Early life and education Koenig was born to a Jewish familyFord Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
. On 17 February 1972, the 15,007,034th Beetle was sold. Volkswagen could now claim the world production record for the most-produced, single make of car in history. By 1973, total production was over 16 million. To commemorate its passing the Ford Model T's record sales mark and its victories in the Baja 1000 Mexican races from 1967 to 1971, Volkswagen produced its first limited-edition Beetle. It was marketed as the "Baja Champion SE" in the United States and the "Marathon" Superbeetle in the rest of the world. It featured unique "Marathon Blau" metallic blue paint, steel-pressed 10-spoke magnesium-alloy wheels, a commemorative metal plate mounted on the glovebox and a certificate of authenticity presented to the original purchaser. Dealer-installed options for this limited-edition Superbeetle included the following: white stripes running the length of the rocker-panel, a special shifter knob, bumper overriders, tapered exhaust tips, fake walnut inserts in the dashboard (behind the steering wheel and the glovebox cover) as well as Bosch fog lights mounted on the front bumper.


1961–1973: Beetle to Golf

The 1961 Type 1 Beetle had a 36 hp 1200cc four cylinder air-cooled flat-four opposed OHV engine made of aluminium alloy block and heads. By 1966, the Type 1 came with a 1300cc engine. By 1967 the Type 1 had a 1500cc engine, and 1600cc in 1970. The air-cooled engine lost favour in the United States market with the advent of unleaded petrol and smog controls. These air-cooled engines were commonly tuned to be fuel-rich in order to control engine over-heating, and this led to excessive carbon monoxide emissions. VW production equipment was eventually moved to Mexico where vehicle emissions were not regulated. Beetles were popular on the US West Coast where the limited-capacity cabin heating was less inconvenient. Beetles were popularised on the US West Coast as beach buggies and dune buggies. VW expanded its product line in 1961 with the introduction of four Type 3 models (Karmann Ghia, Notchback, Fastback, and Variant) based on the new Type 3 mechanical underpinnings. The name 'Squareback' was used in the United States for the Variant. In 1969 the larger Type 4 (411 and 412) models were introduced. These differed substantially from previous vehicles, with the notable introduction of
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
/unibody construction, the option of a fully
automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...
, electronic
fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...
, and a sturdier powerplant. In 1964, Volkswagen acquired
Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm f ...
, and in 1969,
NSU Motorenwerke AG NSU Motorenwerke Aktiengesellschaft, AG, or NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873. Acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969, VW merged NSU with Auto Union, creating Audi NSU Auto Union AG, ultim ...
(NSU). The former company owned the historic
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
brand, which had disappeared after the Second World War. VW ultimately merged Auto Union and NSU to create the modern Audi company, and would go on to develop it as its
luxury vehicle A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...
marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
. The purchase of Auto Union and NSU was a pivotal point in Volkswagen's history, as both companies yielded the technological expertise that proved necessary for VW to survive when demand for its air-cooled models went into decline. Volkswagen added a "Super Beetle" (the Type 131) to its lineup in 1971. The Type 131 differed from the standard Beetle in its use of a
MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles, and is named for American automotive engineer Ear ...
front
suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...
instead of the usual torsion bars. The Super Beetle featured a new hooded, padded dash and curved windshield (from 1973 model year on up). Rack and pinion steering replaced recirculating ball steering gears in the model year 1975 and up. The front of the car was stretched to allow the spare tire to lie flat, and the combination of these two features increased the usable front luggage space. In 1973, Volkswagen introduced the military-themed Type 181, or "Trekker" in Europe, "Thing" in America, recalling the wartime Type 82. The military version was produced for the
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
-era
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
years of 1970 to 1979. The US Thing version only sold for two years, 1973 and 1974. By late 1972, Volkswagen had decided to cancel the nearly finished typ 266, a project for a mid-engined car to replace the Beetle, and to focus on front-wheel-drive, water-cooled cars.
Rudolf Leiding Dr. Ing. h.c. Rudolf Leiding (4 September 1914 – 3 September 2003) was the third post-war chairman of the Volkswagen automobile company (''Volkswagenwerk AG''), succeeding Kurt Lotz in 1971. Leiding began his career with Volkswagen at Wolfsburg ...
, recently made head of Volkswagen, cited noise, heat, and servicing problems with the mid-engine layout, as well as the difficulty of making it a station wagon. Volkswagen was in serious trouble by 1973. The Type 3 and Type 4 models had sold in much smaller numbers than the Beetle and the NSU-based K70 also failed to sell. Beetle sales had started to decline rapidly in European and North American markets. The company knew that Beetle production had to end, but faced a conundrum of how to replace it. VW's ownership of Audi/
Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm f ...
proved beneficial. Its expertise in
front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longit ...
, and
water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and non ...
engines would help Volkswagen produce a credible Beetle successor. Audi influences paved the way for this new generation of Volkswagens: the Passat, Scirocco,
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
, and Polo. First in the series was the
Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a series of D-segment, large family cars manufactured and marketed by the Germany, German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Sa ...
(Dasher in the US), introduced in 1973, a
fastback A fastback is an automotive styling feature, defined by the rear of the car having a single slope from the roof to the tail. The kammback is a type of fastback style. Some models, such as the Ford Mustang, have been specifically marketed as ...
version of the
Audi 80 The Audi 80 is a compact executive car produced by the Audi subdivision of the Volkswagen Group across four generations from 1966 to 1996. It shared its platform with the Volkswagen Passat from 1973 to 1986 and was available as a saloon, and s ...
, using many identical body and mechanical parts. Estate/wagon versions were available in many markets. In Europe, the estate/wagon version dominated market share for many years. In spring 1974, the Scirocco followed. The coupe was designed by
Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...
. Based on the platform of the not yet released
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
, it was built at
Karmann Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, commonly known as simply Karmann, was a German automobile manufacturer and contract manufacturer based in Osnabrück. Founded by Wilhelm Karmann in 1901, the company specialized in a variety of automotive roles, includi ...
due to capacity constraints at Volkswagen. The pivotal model emerged as the Volkswagen Golf in 1974, marketed in the United States and Canada as the Rabbit for the 1st generation (1975–1985) and 5th generation (2006–2009). Its angular styling was designed by the Italian
Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...
. Its design followed trends for small family cars set by the 1959
Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
 – the Golf had a transversely mounted, water-cooled engine in the front, driving the front wheels, and had a
hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
, a format that has dominated the market segment ever since. Beetle production at Wolfsburg ended upon the Golf's introduction. It continued in smaller numbers at other German factories (
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
and
Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...
) until 1978, but mainstream production shifted to Brazil and Mexico. In 1975, the
Volkswagen Polo The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car ( B-segment) produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. Histor ...
followed. It was a re-badged
Audi 50 The Audi 50 (known internally as the ''Typ'' 86) is a supermini economy car produced by German automaker Audi from 1974 to 1978, and sold only in Europe. Introduced two or three years after the Italian Fiat 127 and the French Renault 5, the model ...
, which was soon discontinued in 1978. The Polo became the base of the
Volkswagen Derby Volkswagen Derby was the name first given by German automaker Volkswagen for the commercialization of the booted saloon (three-box) version of its Volkswagen Polo Mk1 supermini, between 1977 and 1981 in Europe. Later, the Derby name was used ...
, which was introduced in 1977. The Derby was for all intents and purposes a three-box design of the Polo. After a second model generation, the Derby was discontinued in 1985, although the body style lived on in the form of the Polo classic/Polo saloon until 1991. Passat, Scirocco, Golf, and Polo shared many character-defining features, as well as parts and engines. They built the basis for Volkswagen's turn-around.


1974–1990: Product line expansion

While Volkswagen's range of cars soon became similar to that of other large European car makers, the Golf has been the mainstay of the Volkswagen line-up since its introduction, and the mechanical basis for several other cars of the company. There have been eight generations of the
Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...
, the first of which was produced from the summer of 1974 until the autumn of 1983 (sold as the Rabbit in the United States and Canada and as the Caribe in Latin America). Its chassis also spawned the
Volkswagen Scirocco The Volkswagen Scirocco is a three-door, front-engine, front-wheel-drive, sport compact hatchback manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in two generations from 1974 to 1992 and a third generation from 2008 until 2017. Production ended without a ...
sport
coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
,
Volkswagen Jetta The Volkswagen Jetta () is a compact car/small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen since 1979. Positioned to fill a sedan niche above the firm's Golf hatchback, it has been marketed over seven generations, variously as the Atlant ...
saloon/sedan, Volkswagen Golf
Cabriolet A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
convertible, and
Volkswagen Caddy The Volkswagen Caddy is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle (M-segment) produced by the German automaker Volkswagen Group since 1980. It is sold in Europe and in other markets around the world. The Volkswagen Caddy was first introduced in Nor ...
pick-up. North American production of the Rabbit commenced at the
Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly Plant Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly was a manufacturing complex located southeast of Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, near New Stanton — and noted for manufacturing 1.15 million Volkswagens from 1978 until 1987. When VWoA beg ...
near
New Stanton, Pennsylvania New Stanton is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,173 at the 2010 census. New Stanton is often used as a control city in western parts of Pennsylvania, as I-70 joins the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76 ...
in 1978. It would be produced in the United States as the Rabbit until the spring of 1984. The second-generation Golf hatchback/Jetta sedan ran from October 1983 until the autumn of 1991, and a North American version produced at Westmoreland Assembly went on sale at the start of the 1985 model year. The production numbers of the first-generation Golf has continued to grow annually in South Africa as the Citi Golf, with only minor modifications to the interior, engine and chassis, using tooling relocated from the
New Stanton, Pennsylvania New Stanton is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,173 at the 2010 census. New Stanton is often used as a control city in western parts of Pennsylvania, as I-70 joins the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76 ...
plant when that site began to build the Second Generation car. In the 1980s, Volkswagen's sales in the United States and Canada fell dramatically, despite the success of models like the Golf elsewhere. Sales in the United States were 293,595 in 1980, but by 1984 they were down to 177,709. The introduction of the second-generation Golf, GTI and Jetta models helped Volkswagen briefly in North America.
Motor Trend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...
named the GTI its Car of the Year for 1985, and Volkswagen rose in the J.D. Power buyer satisfaction ratings to eighth place in 1985, up from 22nd a year earlier. VW's American sales broke 200,000 in 1985 and 1986 before resuming the downward trend from earlier in the decade. Chairman Carl Hahn decided to expand the company elsewhere (mostly in developing countries), and the New Stanton, Pennsylvania factory closed on 14 July 1988. Meanwhile, four years after signing a cooperation agreement with the Spanish car maker SEAT in 1982, Hahn expanded the company by purchasing a majority share of SEAT up to 75% by the end of 1986, which VW bought outright in 1990. On 4 July 1985, ''Volkswagenwerk AG'' was renamed to ''Volkswagen AG''. Volkswagen entered the supermini market in 1975 with the
Volkswagen Polo The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car ( B-segment) produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. Histor ...
, a stylish and spacious three-door hatchback designed by
Bertone Bertone is an Italian surname meaning "descendant of Roberto". Notable people with the surname include: * Alicia Bertone, American academic, researcher, and veterinary surgeon * Catherine Bertone (born 1972), Turkish-born female Italian marathon r ...
. It was a strong seller in West Germany and most of the rest of Western Europe, being one of the first foreign small cars to prove popular in Britain. It had started out in 1974 as the
Audi 50 The Audi 50 (known internally as the ''Typ'' 86) is a supermini economy car produced by German automaker Audi from 1974 to 1978, and sold only in Europe. Introduced two or three years after the Italian Fiat 127 and the French Renault 5, the model ...
, which was only available in certain markets and was less popular. The Polo entered a market sector already being dominated by the
Fiat 127 The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer FIAT from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacement, ...
and
Renault 5 The Renault 5 is a four-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also called S ...
, and which before long would also include the
Austin Metro The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the M ...
and
Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car marketed by Ford since 1976 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and has been positioned below the Escort (later the ...
. In 1981, the second-generation Polo launched as a hatchback (resembling a small estate car). In 1983 the range was expanded, with the introduction of a Coupe (similar to a conventional hatchback), and the Classic (a 2-door saloon). The Polo's practicality, despite the lack of a five-door version, helped ensure even stronger sales than its predecessor. It continued to sell well after a makeover in 1990, finally being replaced by an all-new version in 1994. Also arriving in 1981 were the second generation of the larger Passat and a second generation of the
Volkswagen Scirocco The Volkswagen Scirocco is a three-door, front-engine, front-wheel-drive, sport compact hatchback manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in two generations from 1974 to 1992 and a third generation from 2008 until 2017. Production ended without a ...
coupe. In 1983 the MK2 Golf was launched. At the beginning of 1988, the third generation Passat was the next major car launch and Volkswagen did not produce a hatchback version of this Passat, despite the rising popularity of the hatchback body style throughout Europe. Just after launching the B3 Passat, Volkswagen launched the Corrado, analogous to the Scirocco, although the Scirocco remained in production until 1992; a third generation of Scirocco was in production 2008–17.


1991–1999

In 1991, Volkswagen launched the third-generation Golf, which was
European Car of the Year The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Ita ...
for 1992. The Golf Mk3 and Jetta Mk3 arrived in North America in 1993. The sedan version of the Golf was badged Vento in Europe but remained Jetta in the United States. The Scirocco and the later Corrado were both Golf-based
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
s. In 1994, Volkswagen unveiled the
J Mays J Mays is an American industrial designer who served as Group Vice President of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer at Ford Motor Company, and is now Chief Design Officer at Whirlpool. His name is simply "J", named after his grandfather, S ...
-designed Concept One, a "retro"-themed
concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
with a resemblance to the original Beetle, based on the platform of the Polo. Due to a positive response to the concept, a production version was developed as the
New Beetle The Volkswagen New Beetle is a compact car, introduced by Volkswagen in 1997, drawing heavy inspiration from the exterior design of the original Beetle. Unlike the original Beetle, the New Beetle has its engine in the front, driving the fron ...
, based on the Golf's larger platform. In 1995 the Sharan was launched in Europe, the result of a joint venture with
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
, which also resulted in the
Ford Galaxy The Ford Galaxy is a seven-seater car produced by Ford of Europe from June 1995 to April 2023. Considered in the motor industry to be a large multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), it was the first Ford-brand MPV produced and marketed outside of North Ame ...
and
SEAT Alhambra The SEAT Alhambra is a seven-seater minivan that was built from 1996 to 2020. It was manufactured under the SEAT brand from June 1996 onwards at the Volkswagen Group's AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal. It shares the same platform with the Vo ...
. The company's evolution of its model range was continued with the Golf Mk4, introduced at the end of 1997 (North America in 1999), its chassis spawned a host of other cars within the Volkswagen Group; the
Volkswagen Bora The Volkswagen Bora is a small family car, the fourth generation of the Volkswagen Jetta, and the successor to the Volkswagen Vento. Production of the car began in July 1999. Carrying on the wind nomenclature from previous generations, the car wa ...
(the sedan known as the Jetta in the United States), SEAT Toledo, SEAT León,
Audi A3 The Audi A3 is a subcompact executive/small family car (C-segment) manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi AG since September 1996, currently in its fourth generation. The first two generations of the Audi A3 were based on the ...
, Audi TT, and
Škoda Octavia The Škoda Octavia is a small family car produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Four generations of the modern-era Octavia model have ...
. Other main models during the decade include the
Polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
, a smaller car than the Golf, and the larger
Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a series of large family cars manufactured and marketed by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Mago ...
for the segment above the Golf. In 1998 the company launched the new Lupo city car. In 1999 they announced the first "3-litre" car, a lightweight version of the Lupo that could travel 100 km with only 3-liters of diesel—making it the world's most fuel efficient car at the time.


2000–2016: Further expansion

Volkswagen began introducing an array of new models after
Bernd Pischetsrieder Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder (born 15 February 1948) is a German automobile engineer and manager. Early life and education Pischetsrieder was born in Munich, Bavaria, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich ...
became
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
CEO (responsible for all Group brands) in 2002. The sixth-generation
VW Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...
was launched in 2008, came runner-up to the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia in the 2009
European Car of the Year The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Ita ...
, and has spawned several cousins:
VW Jetta The Volkswagen Jetta () is a compact car/small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen since 1979. Positioned to fill a sedan niche above the firm's Golf hatchback, it has been marketed over seven generations, variously as the Atlant ...
,
VW Scirocco The Volkswagen Scirocco is a three-door, Front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, front-wheel-drive, sport compact hatchback manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in two generations from 1974 to 1992 and a third generation from 2008 ...
,
SEAT León The SEAT León (), also spelled Leon in some other languages (named after the city of León, which also means "Lion" in Spanish), is a hatchback compact car built by the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since October 1999.ETKA The first two León ...
,
SEAT Toledo The SEAT Toledo is a small family car produced by the Spanish manufacturer SEAT, part of Volkswagen Group. The Toledo name was first introduced to the SEAT line up in May 1991 being named after a Spanish city with the same name, with the fourt ...
,
Škoda Octavia The Škoda Octavia is a small family car produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Four generations of the modern-era Octavia model have ...
and Audi A3 hatchback ranges, as well as a new mini- MPV, the
SEAT Altea The SEAT Altea is an automobile produced by the Spanish automaker SEAT from 2004 to 2015 being previewed by the Salsa Emoción concept. As a compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), the car was designed by the Italian Walter de Silva, and was launc ...
. The GTI, a "
hot hatch A hot hatch (shortened from hot hatchback) is a high-performance hatchback car. The term originated in the mid-1980s; however, factory high-performance versions of hatchbacks have been produced since the 1970s. Front-mounted petrol engines, ...
" performance version of the Golf, boasts a 2.0 L
Turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) direct injection engine. VW began marketing the Golf under the Rabbit name once again in the US and Canada in 2006. The sixth-generation Passat and the fifth-generation Jetta both debuted in 2005, and Volkswagen announced plans to expand its lineup further by bringing back the Scirocco by 2008. Other models in
Wolfgang Bernhard Wolfgang Bernhard (born 3 September 1960) is a former member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG. He served as the former President and COO of Chrysler from 2000 to 2004. Early life Bernhard was born Wolfgang Ayerle on 3 September 1960 in B ...
's (Volkswagen brand CEO) "product offensive" include the Tiguan mid-sized SUV in 2008 and a Passat Coupé. In November 2006 Bernd Pischetsrieder announced his resignation as Volkswagen Group CEO and was replaced by Audi worldwide CEO
Martin Winterkorn Martin Winterkorn (born 24 May 1947) is a German former business executive who was chairman of the board of management (CEO, ''Vorstandsvorsitzender'' in German) of Volkswagen AG, the parent company of the Volkswagen Group, chairman of the supe ...
at the beginning of 2007. Volkswagen maintained North American sales of 224,195 in 2005. The momentum continued for fiscal 2006, as Volkswagen's North American sales for the year were 235,140 vehicles, a 4.9 percent increase over 2005, despite a slump in domestic North American manufacturer's sales. In conjunction with the introduction of new models, the production location of Volkswagen vehicles also underwent a great change. The 2007
Eos In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Eos (; Ionic and Homeric Greek ''Ēṓs'', Attic ''Héōs'', "dawn", or ; Aeolic ''Aúōs'', Doric ''Āṓs'') is the goddess and personification of the dawn, who rose each morning from her home at ...
, a hardtop convertible, is produced in a new facility in Portugal. All Golfs/Rabbits and GTIs as of 2006 are manufactured in Wolfsburg, Germany, rather than Puebla, Mexico, where Golfs and GTIs for the North American market were produced from 1989 to 1998, and the Brazilian factory in
Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...
, where Golfs and GTIs were produced from 1999 to 2006 (the Jetta has been primarily manufactured in Mexico since 1989). Volkswagen is also in the process of reconfiguring an automotive assembly plant in Belgium. The new models and investments in manufacturing improvements were immediately noticed by automotive critics. Favourable reviews for Volkswagen's newest cars include the GTI being named by ''
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded ...
'' as the top sporty car under $25,000, one of ''
Car and Driver ''Car and Driver'' (''CD'' or ''C/D'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. In 2006 its total circulation was 1.23 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011. It was fou ...
'' magazine's " 10 Best" for 2007, ''Automobile'' Magazine's 2007 Car of the Year, as well as a 2008 ''
Motor Trend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...
'' comparison ranking the mid-size Passat first in its class. Volkswagen partnered with
Daimler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
and other companies to market the BlueTec clean diesel technology on cars and trucks from Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and other companies and brands. According to the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
, four of the ten most fuel-efficient vehicles available for sale in the United States are powered by Volkswagen diesel engines. Volkswagen has offered a number of its vehicles with a TDI (
Turbocharged Direct Injection TDI (Turbocharged Direct Injection) is Volkswagen Group's term for its current common rail direct injection turbodiesel engine range that have an intercooler in addition to the turbo compressor. TDI engines are used in motor vehicles sold by th ...
) engine, which lends class-leading fuel economy to several models. They were a three-way tie for 8th (TDI Beetle, TDI Golf, TDI Jetta) and ninth, the TDI Jetta Wagon. In addition, all Volkswagen TDI diesel engines produced from 1996 to 2006 can be driven on 100%
biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
fuel. For the 2007 model year, however, strict US government emissions regulations had forced Volkswagen to drop most diesels from their US engine lineup, but a new lineup of diesel engines (then thought) compatible to US standards returned to the American market starting with Model Year 2009. These post-2009 Clean Diesel engines are limited to running on 5% (B5) biodiesel only to maintain Volkswagen's warranty. Volkswagen long resisted adding a
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
to its lineup, but relented with the introduction of the
Touareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berbers, Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to sou ...
, made in partnership with Porsche, while they worked on the
Porsche Cayenne The Porsche Cayenne is a series of mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicles manufactured by the German automaker Porsche since 2002 (Type 9PA or E1), with North American sales beginning in 2003. It is the first V8-engined vehicle built b ...
and later the
Audi Q7 The Audi Q7 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV made by the German manufacturer Audi, unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of this seven-seater SUV began in the autumn of 2005 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in ...
. Though acclaimed as a fine handling vehicle, the Touareg has been a modest seller at best, and it has been criticised by auto reviewers for its absence of a third-row seat, the relatively poor fuel economy, and the high vehicle mass. Volkswagen set plans to add a compact SUV with styling influences from the "Concept A" concept vehicle introduced at the 2006
Geneva Auto Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
, and on 20 July 2006, Volkswagen announced that the new vehicle called the Tiguan. Since the discontinuation of the T4 in 2003 and the decision not to export the T5 to the United States, Volkswagen, coincidentally, lacked a van for its North American lineup. To remedy this, Volkswagen launched the
Volkswagen Routan The Volkswagen Routan is a seven-seat minivan and rebadged variant of the Chrysler RT platform, with revised styling, content features, and suspension tuning from the fifth-generation Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country. Manufactu ...
, a
badge-engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a manu ...
Dodge Grand Caravan The Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans that have been produced and marketed by the American automaker Chrysler since the 1984 model year. Currently in its sixth generation, the model line is marketed worldwide, primarily in North Ameri ...
made for the American and Canadian markets, in 2008. In September 2006, Volkswagen began offering the
City Golf City Golf is a village and resort in the Canelones Department of southern Uruguay. Location It is located on the north side of Ruta Interbalnearia, between Atlántida, Uruguay, Atlántida and Estación Atlántida. Population In 2011 City Golf ha ...
and City Jetta only for the Canadian market. Both models were originally the Mk4 Golf and Jetta but were later replaced with the Brazilian versions of the Golf Mk4 and Bora. Volkswagen's introduction of such models is seen as a test of the market for a subcompact and, if successful, may be the beginnings of a thriving subcompact market for Volkswagen. In May 2011, Volkswagen completed Chattanooga Assembly in
Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. The Chattanooga Assembly plant marked VW's first plant since the plant at New Stanton was closed down. The facility has produced Volkswagen cars and SUVs specifically designed for the North American markets, beginning with the Passat B7 in 2011. The company recently announced plans to expand further by investing $900 million to add floor space to the factory. The VW XL1 began a limited production run in 2013. The XL1 is a lightweight and fuel-efficient two-person vehicle (only 795 kg). The
Volkswagen Atlas The Volkswagen Atlas is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by the German automaker Volkswagen since 2017. Developed mainly for the North American and Chinese market, the vehicle is based on the Volkswagen Group MQB platform. Outside the US and ...
, a large
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
, began production in late 2016, and aimed to help end several years of losses for Volkswagen in the United States, the world's second-largest auto market. On 14 September 2016, Volkswagen announced its partnership with three Israeli
cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...
experts to create a new company, Cymotive, dedicated to automotive security.


2017–present: Focus on electric vehicles

In 2017, Volkswagen announced plans to place a considerable focus on
electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
(EV), with a goal to, by 2025, launch at least 30 EV models, and have 20 to 25 percent of their total yearly sales volume (2-3 million) consist of EVs. In September, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller stated that the company aimed to have electric versions of all of its vehicle models by 2030, at a cost of 20 billion euro, and 50 billion euro on acquisition of batteries. On 6 March 2017 at the Geneva Motor Show Volkswagen presented its prototype for a fully autonomous car,
Sedric (Volkswagen) Sedric is the given name for the prototype of a self driving car by Volkswagen, presented at Geneva Motor Show on 6 March 2017. The name is short for the term ''self driving car'' (SElf-DRIving Car). The design of the vehicle is bus-l ...
. Volkswagen returned to motorsport in 2018 by unveiling its all-electric I.D. R. At the
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the sta ...
,
Romain Dumas Romain Dumas (born 14 December 1977) is a French racing driver and a Porsche factory driver. He first started out in karting and single-seater before becoming an expert driver in endurance racing, GT and sport-prototype. He has won the greatest r ...
set an all-time course record of just under eight minutes driving the I.D. R. In September 2018, Volkswagen announced that it would discontinue production of the Beetle (A5) in 2019. Also in September 2018, Volkswagen announced its $100 million investment in
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
-based
solid-state battery A solid-state battery is a battery technology that uses solid electrodes and a solid electrolyte, instead of the liquid or polymer gel electrolytes found in lithium-ion or lithium polymer batteries. While solid electrolytes were first discovered ...
startup
QuantumScape QuantumScape is an American company that develops solid state lithium metal batteries for electric cars. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California and employs around 400 people. Investors include Bill Gates and Volkswagen. History ...
, becoming the startup's largest automotive investor and gaining representation on its board. In February 2019, Volkswagen announced that it would launch an entry-level Jetta sub-brand in China aimed at young buyers. Three models were announced in July 2019, a sedan and two SUVs, all three of which will be manufactured in China as a part of Volkswagen's joint-venture with FAW. In September 2019 at the
Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...
, Volkswagen officially unveiled a refreshed logo (a thinner, two-dimensional version of the previous logo) and new
sonic branding A sound trademark or sound logo or audio logo is a trademark where sound is used to perform the trademark function of uniquely identifying the commercial origin of products or services. In recent times, sounds have been increasingly used as trade ...
, which will accompany the newly launched ID.3 electric vehicle. Volkswagen stated that the ID.3 signified the start of a "new era" of the company. In September 2019, Volkswagen also announced a program to allow old Beetle models to be converted to run on electric power. The electric motor and battery updates will be done in partnership with German company eClassics. The electric components used for retrofitting will be based upon those found in the
e-up! The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen up!) is a city car, part of the Volkswagen Group New Small Family (NSF) series of models, unveiled at the International Motor Show Germany#2011, 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of ...
model. In November 2020, Volkswagen announced that, trying to remain the world's largest carmaker in the green era, it has increased its investment in electric and self-driving cars to $86 billion over the next five years. In January 2021, Volkswagen announced that its sales in 2020 dropped by 9.9% in China, 23.4% in western Europe and 17.1% in North America. In March 2021, Volkswagen announced that it would stop developing new internal combustion engines, although it would keep tweaking existing engines to comply with stricter emission rules. Also, the company announced it was changing the American division's name to "Voltswagen", with the help of Johannes Leonardo, before revealing the move to be a hoax. In a tweet, the company said, the stunt "got the whole world buzzing." However, some news sources considered the announcement to be real, including the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, whose headline about being fooled stated, "Volkswagen caught lying again, this time about changing its name." In March 2022, Volkswagen released the ID. Buzz electric minivan. On May 11, 2022, Volkswagen confirmed the relaunch of its
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
off-road vehicle brand, this time as an EV. Production is set to begin in 2026, and this relaunch will be the first time that VW creates a new brand based solely in the U.S. market. In July 2022 Volkswagen noted the development of the first of their own '' Gigafactories''. The site, based in
Salzgitter Salzgitter (; Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitter is one of the seven ''Oberzentren'' of Lower ...
in Germany, has been termed ''Mission SalzGiga''. The new business unit is focused on all of Volkswagen's battery activities "from raw materials and the cell right through to recycling", and is part of a €20 billion investment. On Sep 2022 Volkswagen introduces the ID. XTREME1 off-road Electric concept Car, an off-road electric SUV.


Operations

Volkswagen is the founding and namesake member of the
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
, a large international corporation in charge of multiple car and truck brands, including
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
,
SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...
,
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
,
Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...
,
Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...
,
Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...
,
Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
,
MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
, and
Škoda Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
. Volkswagen Group's global headquarters are located in Volkswagen's historic home of
Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...
, Germany. Volkswagen Group, as a unit, is Europe's largest motor vehicle manufacturer, with over 74,000 employees and over 7700 dealerships. For a long time, Volkswagen has had a market share over 20 percent. In 2010, Volkswagen posted record sales of 6.29 million vehicles, with its global market share at 11.4%. In 2008, Volkswagen became the third-largest car maker in the world, and, as of 2016, Volkswagen was the second largest manufacturer worldwide. In 2018 the company benefited from trade tariffs and new emission standards, with a record deliveries of 10.8 million vehicles. Volkswagen Group's core markets include Germany and China. In July 2019, Volkswagen invested $2.6 billion in
Argo AI Argo AI was an autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was co-founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, veterans of the Google and Uber automated driving programs. Argo AI was an inde ...
, a startup focused on developing self-driving vehicles.


International properties

Volkswagen has factories in many parts of the world, manufacturing or assembling vehicles for local markets. In addition to plants in Germany, Volkswagen has manufacturing or assembly facilities in Mexico, the United States, Slovakia, China, India, Russia, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and South Africa. In 2011, Volkswagen was named in the top 25 largest companies in the world by the
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
Global 2000. As of May 2014, Volkswagen was planning to start assembling certain engines in India to increase localisation from 70% to 90%. In January 2016, Volkswagen announced the launch of a new factory in Algeria during a summit between
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
and Algerian prime minister
Abdelmalek Sellal Abdelmalek Sellal ( ar, عبد المالك سلال, ʿAbd al-Mālik Silāl; born 1 August 1948) is an Algerian politician who was Prime Minister of Algeria from 3 September 2012 to 13 March 2014 when he took a leave of office to support Presiden ...
. The factory was launched in
Relizane Relizane or Ghilizan (Arabic: غلیزان; Berber: Ɣilizan) is a city in Algeria. It is the capital city of Relizane Province. Toponymy The name of Relizane comes from the Berber ⵉⵖⵉⵍ ⵉⵣⵣⴰⵏ (Iɣil Izzan) which means “burn ...
, producing
Volkswagen Golf VII The Volkswagen Golf (Mk7) is a small family car (C-segment) produced by German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, as the seventh generation of the Golf and the successor to the Golf Mk6. It was introduced in Berlin on 4 September 2012, before a ...
,
Volkswagen Polo The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car ( B-segment) produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. Histor ...
,
Volkswagen Caddy The Volkswagen Caddy is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle (M-segment) produced by the German automaker Volkswagen Group since 1980. It is sold in Europe and in other markets around the world. The Volkswagen Caddy was first introduced in Nor ...
,
SEAT Ibiza The SEAT Ibiza is a supermini car that has been manufactured by Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since 1984. It is SEAT's best-selling car. The Ibiza is named after the Spanish island of Ibiza and was the second SEAT model to be named after a Spa ...
and
Škoda Octavia The Škoda Octavia is a small family car produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Four generations of the modern-era Octavia model have ...
cars. In the 2021 review of 's annual
World Intellectual Property Indicators World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) is an annual statistical report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The publication provides an overview of the activity in the areas of patents, utility models, trademarks, ...
VW ranked 6th in the world for its 84 industrial design registrations that were published under the
Hague System The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs, also known as the '' Hague system'' provides a mechanism for registering an industrial design in several countries by means of a single application, filed in one lan ...
during 2020. This position is down on their previous 5th-place ranking for 73 industrial design registrations being published in 2019. Since 1985, Volkswagen has also run the Volkswagen AutoMuseum in Wolfsburg, which is dedicated to the history of the company.


Working conditions

With 120,000 employees in Germany, VW is one of the most well
organized labour The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...
represented companies in the world and Germany. The role that
Works Councils A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...
and
IG Metall IG Metall (; IGM; German: ''Industriegewerkschaft Metall'', "Industrial Union of Metalworkers'") is the dominant metalworkers' union in Germany, making it the country's largest union as well as Europe's largest industrial union. Analysts of Ger ...
play is unique even within Germany. VW workers have some of the strongest
collective agreements A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
. VW has a strong tradition and practice of
social partnership Social partnership ( ga, Pairtíocht sóisialta) is the term used for the tripartite, triennial national pay agreements reached in Ireland. The process was initiated in 1987, following a period of high inflation and weak economic growth which le ...
and
co-determination In corporate governance, codetermination (also "copartnership" or "worker participation") is a practice where workers of an enterprise have the right to vote for representatives on the board of directors in a company. It also refers to staff having ...
. Volkswagen agreed in December 2011 to implement a rule passed by the company's
Works Council A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...
aimed at improving
work–life balance Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal tr ...
and avoiding burnout by restricting company email functionality on the firm's
BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
smartphones to working periods and the half-hour before and after working periods. About 1,150 of Volkswagen's more than 190,000 employees in Germany were affected by the email restriction.


Relationship with Porsche and the Volkswagen Law

Volkswagen has always had a close relationship with
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
, the
Zuffenhausen Zuffenhausen is one of three northernmost boroughs of the city of Stuttgart, capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The borough is primarily an incorporation of the formerly independent townships Zuffenhausen, Zazenhausen, Neuwirtshau ...
-based sports car manufacturer founded in 1931 by
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswag ...
, the original Volkswagen designer and Volkswagen company co-founder, hired by Adolf Hitler for the project. The first Porsche car, the
Porsche 64 The Porsche 64, also known as the Type 64 and Type 60K10, is considered by many to be the first automobile from what was to become the Porsche company, and a true design precursor to the post-war production model. The model number comes from the ...
of 1938, used many components from the
Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
. The 1948
Porsche 356 The Porsche 356 is a sports car that was first produced by Austrian company Porsche Salzburg, Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH (1948–1949), and then by German company Porsche, Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH (1950–1965). It was Porsche's first ...
continued using many Volkswagen components, including a tuned engine,
gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
and suspension. The two companies continued their collaboration in 1969 to make the VW-Porsche 914 and Porsche 914-6. (The 914-6 had a 6-cylinder Porsche engine, and the standard 914 had a Volkswagen engine.) Volkswagen and Porsche would collaborate again in 1976 on the
Porsche 912 The Porsche 912 is a sports car produced by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany, for the 1965 through 1969 model years. An entry-level variant of the 911, it was also offered in compact 2+2 Coupé and Targa body styles. The nimble-handling 912 was a ...
-E (the USA only) and the
Porsche 924 The Porsche 924 is a sports car produced by Porsche in Neckarsulm, Germany,from 1976 until 1988. A two-door, 2+2 coupé, the 924 replaced the 912E and 914 as the company's entry-level model. Although the 928 was designed first, the 924 was t ...
, which used many
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
components and was built at Audi's
Neckarsulm Neckarsulm () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. , Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers ...
facilities. The 924 was originally designated for AUDI. Most
Porsche 944 The Porsche 944 is a sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 1982 until 1991. A front-engine, rear-wheel drive mid-level model based on the 924 platform, the 944 was available in coupé or cabriolet body styles, ...
models were built there, although they used far fewer VW components. The
Porsche Cayenne The Porsche Cayenne is a series of mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicles manufactured by the German automaker Porsche since 2002 (Type 9PA or E1), with North American sales beginning in 2003. It is the first V8-engined vehicle built b ...
, introduced in 2002, shares its entire chassis with the
Volkswagen Touareg The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: ) is a car produced by German automaker Volkswagen Group since 2002 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. A five-seater mid-size luxury crossover SUV, the vehicle was named after the nomadic Tuareg peo ...
and
Audi Q7 The Audi Q7 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV made by the German manufacturer Audi, unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of this seven-seater SUV began in the autumn of 2005 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in ...
, and is built at the same Volkswagen factory in
Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
that the other SUVs are built. In September 2005, Porsche announced it would increase its 5% stake in Volkswagen to 20% at a cost of €3 billion, with the intention that the combined stakes of Porsche and the government of Lower Saxony would ensure that any hostile takeover by foreign investors would be impossible. Speculated suitors included
DaimlerChrysler The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
, BMW, and
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
. In July 2006, Porsche increased their ownership again to 25.1%. On 4 March 2005, the European Commission brought an action against the Federal Republic of Germany before the European Court of Justice, claiming that the
Volkswagen Law The Volkswagen Act is a set of German (originally West German) federal laws enacted in 1960, regulating the privatization of Volkswagenwerk GmbH into the Volkswagen Group. In order to maintain government control in the privately owned company, it ...
, which prevents any shareholder in Volkswagen from executing more than 20% of the total voting rights in the firm, was illegally restricting the flow of capital in Europe. On 13 February 2007, Advocate General
Dámaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer Dámaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer (20 June 1949 – 11 November 2009) was a Spanish jurist, judge at the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (General Council of the Judiciary) and the head of the Private Office of the President of the Consejo General del P ...
submitted an opinion to the court in support of the action. This again opened the possibility of a hostile takeover of VW and so on 26 March of the same year Porsche took its holding of Volkswagen shares to 30.9%. Porsche formally announced in a press statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen, but intended the move to avoid a competitor's taking a large stake and to stop hedge funds from dismantling VW. As expected, on 22 October 2007, the
European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
ruled in agreement with Ruiz-Jarabo and the law was struck down. In October 2007, the
European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
ruled that the VW law was illegal because it was
protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
. At that time,
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
held 31% of VW shares – although a smaller proportion of voting rights, due to the Volkswagen Law – and there had been speculation that Porsche would be interested in taking over VW if the law did not stand in its way. The court also prevented the government from appointing Volkswagen board members. The German government then rewrote the Volkswagen law, only to be sued again. In October 2013, the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled that the rewritten Volkswagen law "complied in full" with EU rules. On 26 October 2008, Porsche revealed its plan to assume control of VW. As of that day, it held 42.6% of Volkswagen's ordinary shares and stock options on another 31.5%. Combined with the state of Lower Saxony's 20.1% stake, this left only 5.8% of shares on the market—mostly with index funds that could not legally sell.
Hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...
s desperate to cover their
short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...
positions forced Volkswagen stock above one thousand euros per share, briefly making it the world's largest company by
market capitalisation Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by t ...
on 28 October 2008. By January 2009, Porsche had a 50.76% holding in Volkswagen AG, although the "Volkswagen Law" prevented it from taking control of the company. On 6 May 2009, the two companies decided to join, in a merger. On 13 August, Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft's supervisory board signed the agreement to create an integrated automotive group with Porsche led by Volkswagen. The initial decision was for Volkswagen to take a 42.0% stake in Porsche AG by the end of 2009, and it would also see the family shareholders selling the automobile trading business of Porsche Holding Salzburg to Volkswagen. In October 2009 however, Volkswagen announced that its percentage in Porsche would be 49.9% for a cost of €3.9 billion (the 42.0% deal would have cost €3.3 billion). On 1 March 2011, Volkswagen has finalised the purchase of Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS), Austria's leading specialty automobile distributor, for €3.3 billion ($4.55 billion). In January 2020, Volkswagen was overtaken by
Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid- ...
as the second-most valuable auto maker.


Product line

The Volkswagen brand produces various models which consists of global products and regional products, specifically for large markets including Europe, China and Latin America. Volkswagen AG annual report in 2019 reported that the best-selling model under the Volkswagen brand globally is the Tiguan, followed by the
B-segment The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 20 percent of ...
range of Polo, Virtus, Vento and Ameo, and
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
.


Hatchbacks

Volkswagen has been one of the leading manufacturer in terms of hatchback production, which traditionally has been a popular segment in Europe. The brand offered a range of hatchbacks from A-segment,
B-segment The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 20 percent of ...
, and
C-segment The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...
. The
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
traditionally has been the strongest selling vehicle for the brand in Europe, followed by the smaller
Polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
which apart from the European market also has a stronghold in emerging markets. Sales for the hatchback category has slowed down due to the rise of the SUV segment.


SUVs/crossovers

The brand introduced its first crossover SUV in 2002 starting from the
Touareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berbers, Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to sou ...
, a full-size luxury SUV. The brand SUV expansion continues with the release of Tiguan, a
C-segment The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...
mainstream SUV in 2007. In the mid-2010s, the company has decided to an SUV in every class of car that can justify one, which the brand called the "SUV offensive". Between 2017 and 2020, the brand has aggressively expanded its SUV line-up by growing its number of models from 2 to 8 models, excluding its derivatives, ranging from
B-segment The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 20 percent of ...
,
C-segment The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...
, and
D-segment The D-segment is the 4th category of the European segments for passenger cars, and is described as "large cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "large family car" size class, and the present-day definition of the mid-size car category use ...
SUVs which include global models and regional models. Volkswagen also started producing derivatives of its SUV models with a rear sloping roof marketed as
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
SUV which had gained popularity in China, the largest single market for the brand. In 2019, every fourth vehicle delivered by the Volkswagen brand today is an SUV, with its top contributor being the Tiguan. The brand plans to have over 30 SUV models on offer worldwide by 2025, contributing 50 percent of its global sales. Volkswagen also expects SUVs to lead the ID. family, its future electric vehicle range of models. The SUV expansion has claimed casualties in the MPV segment, which saw the Sharan mid-size MPV being phased out in 2020.


Regional models


Chinese market

Volkswagen is a market leader in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, which is the largest single automotive market in the world. In 2019, 3.16 million Volkswagen-branded vehicles were delivered in the country. The importance of the market has justified a significant amount of China-specific models.
Sedans A sedan or saloon (British English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo. The first recorded use of the word "sedan" in reference to an automobile body occurred in 19 ...
are a favoured segment in China due to their spacious interiors and boot space. In 2019, the brand sold 1.6 million of them in China. In the compact notchback or sedan segment, the brand is represented by several China-only models which include the Sagitar, Lamando, Bora,
Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
, Lavida, and its derivatives in other body styles, while the
mid-size sedan Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in t ...
segment is represented by the
Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a series of large family cars manufactured and marketed by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Mago ...
and Magotan. The Lavida was the best-selling model in China of all manufacturers in 2019 with 491,000 units sold. The popularity of SUVs also gave birth to several SUV models built or reworked specifically for China, including the Tharu, Tayron, Tayron X, Tiguan X, and reworked versions of the T-Cross and T-Roc. The brand also has a strong presence in the premium or luxury segment including the Phideon and Viloran as the models developed specifically for China.


Brazilian market

The brand has a notable history in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Volkswagen's relationship with Brazil dates back to the early 1950s. In 1956, Volkswagen began by building a plant in
São Bernardo do Campo São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of . History The city was founded b ...
, near
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
as its first manufacturing plant outside Germany as a response to the Brazil's ban on the import of completely assembled vehicles in 1950. One year later, the plant started to produce the Kombi model – 370 cars at that time, with a 50 percent local content component share. Of 81 million vehicles produced over six decades in Brazil, 23 million of it was built by Volkswagen, which was produced by four passenger car factories in the country. In 2018, Volkswagen accounted for close on 15 percent of the Brazilian car market. The importance of the Brazilian market gave birth to several models developed and manufactured by
Volkswagen do Brasil Volkswagen do Brasil Ltda. is a subsidiary arm of Volkswagen Group, established in 1953 with local assembly of the Volkswagen Type 1 from parts imported from Germany. It produced over 20 million vehicles in Brazil, having been market leader for th ...
, which include the Volkswagen Fox, Fox, Volkswagen Gol, Gol, Volkswagen Nivus, Nivus, Volkswagen Gol#Saveiro, Saveiro, Volkswagen Polo#Volkswagen Virtus, Virtus and Volkswagen Gol#Voyage, Voyage. These models are also typically exported throughout Latin America. Historical vehicles built for the market include the Volkswagen Brasília, Brasília, Volkswagen SP2, SP1 & SP2, Volkswagen Type 3#Brazilian Type 3, 1500/Variant/Variant II, Volkswagen Karmann Ghia#Karmann Ghia TC, Karmann Ghia TC, Volkswagen Parati, Parati and Volkswagen Suran, Suran. The Gol, first launched in 1980, was the best-selling car in the country for 27 consecutive years, up until 2013.


Environment-friendly vehicles


Pure ethanol vehicles

Volkswagen do Brasil Volkswagen do Brasil Ltda. is a subsidiary arm of Volkswagen Group, established in 1953 with local assembly of the Volkswagen Type 1 from parts imported from Germany. It produced over 20 million vehicles in Brazil, having been market leader for th ...
produced and sold pure ethanol-powered (Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E100, E100 only) vehicles in Brazil, and production was discontinued only after they were supplanted by more modern flexible-fuel vehicle, Flex Fuel technology. As a response to the 1973 oil crisis, the Brazilian government began promoting bioethanol as a fuel, and the Pro-Álcool, National Alcohol Program -''Pró-Álcool''- ( pt, Programa Nacional do Álcool) was launched in 1975. Compelled by the 1979 energy crisis, and after development and testing with government fleets by the Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology, CTA at São José dos Campos, and further testing of several prototypes developed by the four local carmakers, including Volkswagen do Brasil, pure ethanol vehicles were launched in the Brazilian market. Petrol engines were modified to support hydrous ethanol characteristics and changes included compression ratio, amount of fuel injected, replacement of materials that would get corroded by the contact with ethanol, use of colder spark plugs suitable for dissipating heat due to higher flame temperatures, and an auxiliary cold-start system that injects petrol from a small tank in the engine compartment to help starting when cold. Within six years, around 75% of all Brazilian passenger cars were manufactured with ethanol engines. Production and sales of pure ethanol vehicles tumbled beginning in 1987 owing to several factors, including a sharp decline in petrol prices as a result of the 1980s oil glut, and high sugar prices in the world market, shifting sugarcane ethanol production from fuel to sugar. By mid-1989, a shortage of ethanol fuel supply in the local market left thousands of vehicles in line at petrol stations or out of fuel in their garages, forcing consumers to abandon ethanol vehicles.


Flexible-fuel vehicles

The 2003 Volkswagen Gol, VW Gol 1.6 Total Flex was the first full flexible-fuel vehicle launched in Brazil, capable of running on any blend of petrol and Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E100, E100. In March of that year, on its fiftieth anniversary,
Volkswagen do Brasil Volkswagen do Brasil Ltda. is a subsidiary arm of Volkswagen Group, established in 1953 with local assembly of the Volkswagen Type 1 from parts imported from Germany. It produced over 20 million vehicles in Brazil, having been market leader for th ...
launched in the local market the Volkswagen Gol, Gol 1.6 Total Flex, the first Brazilian commercial flexible fuel vehicle capable of running on any mix of E20 fuel, E20-E25 petrol and up to 100% hydrous ethanol fuel (Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E100, E100). After the pure ethanol fiasco, consumer confidence in ethanol-powered vehicles was restored, allowing a rapid adoption of the flex technology. This was facilitated by the fuel distribution infrastructure already in place throughout Brazil, with more than 30 thousand fueling stations, a heritage of the ''Pró-Álcool'' program Owing to the success and rapid consumer acceptance of the flex-fuel versions, by 2005 VW had sold 293,523 flex-fuel cars and light-duty trucks, and only 53,074 petrol-only automobiles, ''See Table 08 for flex-fuel sales and Table 07 for gasoline sales''. jumping to 525,838 flex-fuel vehicles and only 13,572 petrol-only cars and 248 petrol-only light trucks in 2007, ''See Table 08 for flex-fuel sales and Table 07 for gasoline sales''. and reaching new car sales of 564,959 flex-fuel vehicles in 2008, representing 96% of all new cars and light-duty trucks sold in that year. ''See Table 08''. VW do Brasil stopped manufacturing gasoline-only vehicles models for the local market in 2006, and all of the remaining petrol-only Volkswagen models sold in Brazil are imported. The flex-fuel models currently produced for the local market are the Gol, Fox, CrossFox, Parati, Polo Hatch, Polo Sedan, Saveiro, Golf, and Kombi. By March 2009, Volkswagen do Brasil had attained the milestone mark of two million flex-fuel vehicles produced since 2003.


Hybrid vehicles

Volkswagen and Sanyo have teamed up to develop a battery system for hybrid electric vehicle, hybrid cars. Volkswagen head
Martin Winterkorn Martin Winterkorn (born 24 May 1947) is a German former business executive who was chairman of the board of management (CEO, ''Vorstandsvorsitzender'' in German) of Volkswagen AG, the parent company of the Volkswagen Group, chairman of the supe ...
has confirmed the company plans to build compact hybrid electric vehicles. He has stated "There will definitely be compact hybrid models, such as
Polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
and
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
, and without any great delay", with petrol and diesel engine, diesel power. For example, Golf is the ideal model to go hybrid as the Golf 1.4 TSI was recently awarded the "Auto Environment Certificate" by the Oko-Trend Institute for Environmental Research, and was considered one of the most environmentally friendly vehicles of 2007. Also underway at Volkswagen's Braunschweig Research and development, R&D facilities in Northern Germany is a hybrid version of the next-generation
Touareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berbers, Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to sou ...
. VW intends all future models to have the hybrid option. "Future VW models will fundamentally also be constructed with hybrid concepts," VW head of development Ulrich Hackenberg told ''Automobilwoche'' in an interview. Hackenberg mentioned that the car based on the Volkswagen up!, Up! concept seen at Frankfurt Motor Show, as well as all future models, could be offered with either full or partial hybrid options. The rear-engine up! will go into production in 2011. Nothing has been said about plug-in hybrid options. Volkswagen announced at the Geneva Motor Show#010, 2010 Geneva Motor Show the launch of the 2012 Volkswagen Touareg#Touareg V6 TSI Hybrid (2009), Touareg Hybrid, scheduled for 2011. VW also announced plans to introduce diesel fuel, diesel-electric hybrid versions of its most popular models in 2012, beginning with the new Jetta, followed by the Volkswagen Golf, Golf Hybrid in 2013 together with hybrid versions of the Volkswagen Polo, Passat. In 2012, the Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid set the world record to become the fastest hybrid car at .


Plug-in electric vehicles

In November 2009, Volkswagen announced it has hired Karl-Thomas Neumann as its group chief officer for electric traction. VW's Chief of research, Jürgen Leohold, said in 2010 the company has concluded fuel-cell vehicle, hydrogen fuel-cell cars are not a viable option. , the
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
offers for retails customers nine plug-in electric cars, of which, three are all-electric cars: the Volkswagen e-Up!, Volkswagen e-Golf, e-Golf and Audi R8 e-tron, and six are plug-in hybrids: the Volkswagen Golf GTE, Volkswagen Passat GTE, Passat GTE, Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, Audi Q7 e-tron, Q7 e-tron quattro, Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid and Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, Cayenne S E-Hybrid. Also two limited production plug-in hybrids were manufactured beginning in 2013, the Volkswagen XL1 (250 units) and the Porsche 918 Spyder (918 units). Total cumulative sales of all Volkswagen brand electric vehicle, electrified cars since the start of their respective production is expected to reach about 103,000 by the end of 2016. The Volkswagen ID.4 was launched in the U.S. in September 2020. In order to comply with increasingly strict Greenhouse gas emissions, carbon dioxide emission limits in major markets, the VW Group expects to sell about one million all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles a year worldwide by 2025. The Group plans to expand its plug-in range with 20 new pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars, including two cars to compete with
Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid- ...
, the Porsche Mission E all-electric car and the Audi e-tron (2018), Audi e-tron quattro, which is expected to become the brand's first mass-production electric vehicle. According to Thomas Ulbrich, VW brand production chief, the carmaker has the capacity to build as many as 75,000 battery-electric and plug-in hybrids a year if demand rises. Volkswagen announced in October 2015 that "it will develop a modular architecture for battery-electric cars, called the Volkswagen Group MEB platform, MEB. The standardised system will be designed for all body structures and vehicle types and will allow the company to build emotionally appealing EVs with a range of up to ." In June 2016, VW launched a program to develop 30 all-electric cars in 10 years, and sell 2–3 million electric cars per year by 2025. Due to lower manpower requirements for electric motors than for piston engines, VW expects a gradual workforce reduction as numbers of electric cars increase. VW considers battery factory ownership as too expensive.


Flying vehicles

In February 2021, Volkswagen issued a statement that "vertical mobility" could be the next step after self-driving technology. It announced that the company is exploring the feasibility of flying vehicles in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.


Awards

Volkswagen was named the fourth most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, for its Volkswagen Beetle, Volkswagen Type 1 "Beetle" model. It trailed only the
Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
, BMC
Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
, and Citroën DS. Volkswagen has produced four winners of the 50-year-old
European Car of the Year The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Ita ...
award. Volkswagen has produced five winners of the United States Motor Trend Car of the Year award – the original Car of the Year designation, which began in 1949. Volkswagen has already produced five winners of the recently developed World Car of the Year award.


Motorsport


Formula racing

* In 1963, Formula Vee circuit racing, with cars built from easily available Volkswagen Beetle#Power, Beetle parts, started in the United States. It quickly spread to Europe and other parts of the world. It proved very popular as a low-cost route into formula racing. * In 1971, Volkswagen of America started the more powerful Formula Super Vee, which became famous for hothousing new talent. In the 11 years it ran, until 1982, it produced a stable of world-famous Formula One drivers—names like Niki Lauda, Jochen Mass, Nelson Piquet, Jochen Rindt and Keke Rosberg. Volkswagen also notched up several victories, and the championship in Formula Three. * In July 2011 Wolfgang Dürheimer, the director of Bugatti and Bentley, told German magazine ''Auto, Motor und Sport'' that "if [the VW group] is at the forefront of the auto industry, I can imagine us competing in Formula 1 in 2018. We have enough brands to pull it off." They did not compete in F1 in 2018.


World Rally Championship

* In 1981, now based in
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, VW took a new direction into rallying, with the launch of the first-generation Golf, and Sweden's Per Eklund, Frenchman Jean-Luc Thérier, and the Finn Pentti Airikkala. The final chapters in Volkswagen Racing UK's rallying story were the 'one-make' Castrol Polo Challenge, and the Polo GTI 'Super 1600' in 2001. * Volkswagen Motorsport won the World Rally Championship with Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia four years in a row from 2013 to 2016 in the Volkswagen Polo R WRC.


Dakar Rally

* In 1980, Volkswagen competed with the Audi-developed Volkswagen Iltis, Iltis, placing 1st, 2nd, 4th and 9th overall. * In 2003, the Hanover-based team entered with a 2WD buggy named Tarek, finishing 6th overall and 1st in the 2WD and Diesel class. * In 2005, an updated Race-Touareg with slightly more power entered, with driver Bruno Saby finishing 3rd overall and 1st in the Diesel class. * In 2006, the revised Race-Touareg entered, with driver Giniel de Villiers finishing 2nd overall and 1st in the Diesel class. * Volkswagen won the 2009 Dakar Rally, 2009, 2010 Dakar Rally, 2010 and 2011 Dakar Rally, held in South America.


Volkswagen motorsport worldwide

* Europe: In 1998 the company founded the ADAC Volkswagen Lupo Cup, founded in 1998 (renamed Polo Cup in 2003, and Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup from 2010 to 2014), and started the ADAC
New Beetle The Volkswagen New Beetle is a compact car, introduced by Volkswagen in 1997, drawing heavy inspiration from the exterior design of the original Beetle. Unlike the original Beetle, the New Beetle has its engine in the front, driving the fron ...
Cup in 2000. In 2004, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles entered the European Truck Racing series with the Volkswagen Titan truck – it became a back-to-back champion for the 2004 and 2005 series. * United States: In 1976, Volkswagen entered the under-2000-cc Trans-Am Series, with the Scirocco, and they won their class outright. Beginning in 2008 Volkswagen introduced the Jetta TDI Cup. The Jetta TDI Cup is an SCCA sanctioned race series that features 25 drivers between the ages of 16 and 26 driving slightly modified 2009 Jetta TDIs. The series features 10 events at 8 different road courses across North America. There is $50,000 prize money at stake over the course of the series in addition to the $100,000 prize awarded to the champion of the series at the conclusion of the last race. * Argentina: Many Volkswagen models have competed in TC 2000, including the 1980 to 1983 champion Hillman Avenger#Argentina, Volkswagen 1500 and the 1994 champion Volkswagen Gol. * In 1999 and 2000, VW won the F2 Australian Rally Championship with the Golf GTI. * Finland: In 2002, VW won the Finnish Rally Championship in a7/(F2), with a Golf Mk4 KitCar, with Mikko Hirvonen. In 1999 and 2000, VW won the Finnish Rally Championship in a7/(F2) with a Golf Mk3 KitCar. In 2000, 2001 and 2002, VW won the Finnish Racing Championship in Sport 2000 with a Golf Mk4. * Austria: From 1967 until 1974, the Austrian sole distributor Porsche Salzburg entered the VW Beetle (1500, 1302S and 1303S) in Europe-wide rallies. Victories were achieved in 1972 and 1973 in the overall Austrian championship, on Elba, in the Acropolis rally (first in class). Top drivers were Tony Fall (GB), Achim Warmbold (D), Günter Janger (A), Harry Källström (S).
File:VW Typ 60 K 10 - Porsche Typ 64 (Berlin-Rom-Wagen), Bj.1939.jpg, 1939 Berlin to Rome. Porsche Type 64 racer based on
Beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
platform File:Volkswagen Beetle Fittipaldi-Baldahl 1967.jpg, Twin-engine racing
Beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
developed by Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Wilson and Emerson Fittipaldi brothers File:TC2000 Sportteam Competicion 2006 Volkswagen Bora.jpg, Bora in TC 2000, a national championship of Argentina File:Stock Car V8 Brasil Amir Nasr Racing.jpg, Bora in Stock Car Brasil File:VW Race Touareg 2 blue vl EMS.jpg, Edition 2007 Race Volkswagen Touareg, Touareg 2 at Essen Motor Show 2006 File:Formula Truck 2006 Interlagos Volkswagen leads.jpg, Volkswagen Constellation, Constellation in the 2006 Brazilian Fórmula Truck Championship


Literature

* Jonas Kiefer: ''VW Typenatlas, Serienfahrzeuge.'' 2. Auflage. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2002, . * Rudi Heppe: ''VW Personenwagen.'' Podszun, Brilon 2001, . * Halwart Schrader: ''VW Personenwagen seit 1945, Band 1, Typenkompass.'' Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, . * Halwart Schrader: ''VW Personenwagen seit 1945, Band 2, Typenkompass.'' Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, . * Werner Oswald: ''Deutsche Autos, Band 2, 1920–1945.'' 2. Auflage. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, . * Werner Oswald: ''Deutsche Autos, Band 3, 1945–1990, Ford, Opel und Volkswagen.'' 1. Auflage. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, .


See also

* Baja bug * Cal Look * List of German cars * List of automobile manufacturers * Punch buggy * Standard Superior – a previous attempt to produce a "Volkswagen" * Steyr 50 * VDub – tagline for the recent VWoA Golf GTI TV advertisement * Volksflugzeug * Volksrod * Volkswagen advertising * VW 276 Schlepperfahrzeug, military use 1944 * Volkswagen controversies


Further reading

* William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (50th Anniversary Edition) (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990) * Andrea Hiott, Thinking Small (New York: Ballantine Books, 2012)


Notes


References


External links

*
Volkswagen.com
Volkswagen Cars Worldwide portal
Volkswagen Classic

Volkswagen Cars Technical Information
{{Authority control Volkswagen vehicles, Volkswagen Group Car manufacturers of Germany Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1937 Companies based in Lower Saxony German brands Clio Award winners Wolfsburg Car brands German companies established in 1937