Volkswagen History
Volkswagen (which is often abbreviated to VW) is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsbury in Germany. The company, Volkswagen was originally founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront). Volkswagen is the original marque of the Volkswagen Group which also includes the car marques of Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda and heavy goods manufacturer Scania. In 2009 the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG endorsed the creation of an integrated automotive group with Porsche, under the leadership of Volkswagen.
Volkswagen means "people's car" in German and its current slogan is Das Auto (in English this is "The Car"). In the early 1930s , the German auto industry was still largely composed of luxury models, and the average German consumer could rarely afford something more than a motorcycle. Some car makers then began independent "peoples' car" projects, including Mercedes' 170H, Adler's AutoBahn, Steyr 55, Hanomag 1,3L, among others.
In 1933, with many of the above projects still in development or early stages of production, the German leadership decided to create a state-sponsored "Volkswagen" program for a basic vehicle capable of transporting two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph). The "People's Car" would be available to citizens of Germany through a savings scheme at 990 Reichsmark which was about the price of a small motorcycle (an average German household income being around 32RM a week at the time).
The engineer chosen for the task of producing the new "People's car" was Ferdinand Porsche. He was already a famed engineer and was also the designer of the Mercedes 170H. The building of the new factory started 26 May 1938 in the new town of KdF-Stadt, now called Wolfsburg, 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. War meant production changed to military vehicles, the Type 82 Kebelwagen ("Bucket car") utility vehicle (VW's most common wartime model), and the amphibious Schimmwagen were used to equip the German forces.
After the war, the factory survived by producing cars for the British Army instead and produced around 1,000 cars a month. From 1948 however, Volkswagen became a very important element, symbolically and economically, of West Germany's regeneration and was run by Heinrich Nordhoff (1899–1968), a former senior manager at Opel, who had overseen civilian and military vehicle production in the 1930s and 1940s. Apart from the introduction of the Volkswagen Type commercial vehicle (a van, pickup and camper), and the VW Karmann Ghia sports car, Volkswagen pursued the one-model policy until shortly before Nordhoff's death in 1968.
Volkswagens were first sold in the United States in 1949, but only sold two units in America their first year. Production of the Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle increased dramatically over the years with the eventual total reaching one million cars in 1955. Sales soared and Volkswagen advertisements became as popular as the car, using crisp layouts and clever copy to lure younger, more sophisticated consumers, with whom the car became associated. It was almost universally known as the Beetle (or the Bug), however it was never officially labelled as such by Volkswagen, who instead referred to as the Type 1. The first reference to the Beetle name occurred in U.S. advertising in 1968, but it was not until 1998 and the launch of the "Golf-based" New Beetle, would the name be finally adopted by Volkswagen.
Volkswagen then expanded its product line in 1961 with the introduction of several Type 3 models, which were essentially body style variations based on Type 1 mechanical underpinnings, and again in 1969 with the larger Type 4 (also known as the 411 and 412) models. These cars differed from previous vehicles, with the introduction of a unibody construction, the option of a fully automatic transmission, electronic fuel injection and a sturdier engine. In 1971 Volkswagen added a "Super Beetle (the Type 113) to its lineup. The Type 113 differed from the standard Beetle as it used a MacPherson strut front suspension instead of the torsion bars for the first time. The nose of the car was also stretched 2 inches (51 mm) which allowed the spare tyre to lie flat, and the combination of these two features significantly increased the front luggage space. In 1973, Volkswagen introduced the military-themed Type 181, or "Trekker" as it was called in Europe and the UK.
In 1964, Volkswagen succeeded in purchasing Auto Union, and in 1969, NSU Motorenwere AG (NSU). Auto Union owned the Audi brand, which had disappeared after the Second World War. Volkswagen ultimately merged Auto Union and NSU to create the modern day Audi company, and would go on to develop it as a luxury vehicle manufacturer. The purchase of Auto Union and NSU proved to be a pivotal point in Volkswagen's history, as both companies offered all the technological expertise that proved necessary for Volkswagen to survive, when demand for its air-cooled models went into decline as the 1970s dawned.
Sales of Volkswagens had dropped by 1973 as The Type 3 and Type 4 models had sold in much smaller numbers than the original Beetle. Volkswagen knew that Beetle production had to end one day and they needed to produce a credible Beetle successor. Audi influences paved the way for this new generation of Volkswagens, better known as the Polo, Golf and Passat.
The Volkswagen Polo was a re-badging of the short-lived Audi 50, which had been developed from the Audi 60. The Volkswagen Passat was introduced in 1973, and was simply a fastback (available as either a hatchback or with a separate boot) version of the Audi 80, using identical body and mechanical parts. The pivotal model which would turn Volkswagen's fortunes was the introduction of the Volkswagen Golf in 1974 which was marketed in the United States as the Rabbit. This new car was a vehicle unlike its predecessor, both mechanically as well as visually. Its angular styling was designed by the Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro and followed trends for small family cars set by the 1959 MINI. The Golf had a transversely mounted, water-cooled engine in the front, driving the front wheels, and had a hatchback, which was a format that has dominated the market segment ever since. Beetle production at Wolfsburg ended when the Golf was introduced and eventually mainstream production shifted to Brazil and Mexico.
Volkswagen's range of cars soon became similar to that of other large European car makers and the Golf has been the mainstay of the Volkswagen lineup since its introduction. The Volkswagen Golf GTI was one of the original cars to create the "hot hatchback" segment. The Golf was also the mechanical basis for several other cars of the company. Its chassis spawned the original Volkswagen Scirocco sport coupe, Volkswagen Jetta (Golf with a boot), the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, and Volkswagen Caddy. Four years after signing a cooperation agreement with the Spanish car maker SEAT in 1982 the company expanded by purchasing a majority share of SEAT up to 75% by the end of 1986, which Volkswagen bought outright in 1990.
Volkswagen entered the supermini market in 1976 with the introduction of the Volkswagen Polo which was a stylish and spacious three-door hatchback designed by Bertone. It was a strong seller in the UK and the second-generation model, launched in 1981 was sold as a hatchback and "coupe" (with the hatchback resembling a small estate car and the coupe being similar to a conventional hatchback). This car was an even greater success for Volkswagen. The Polo was face-lifted in 1990 and has successfully sold well ever since.
It was in 1991 that Volkswagen launched the third-generation Golf, which was European Car of the Year for 1992. The late 1990s saw a gradual change in perception of the company's products - with Audi competing with the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Volkswagen then moved upmarket to fill the void left by Audi, with SEAT and the further addition of the Czech car maker Skoda being acquired in the late 1990s, now focussing on what was once Volkswagen's core market. Evidence of this was the fifth-generation Passat in 1996, with its high-quality interior trim and standards of build quality. The move upmarket was continued with the Golf MK IV, introduced at the end of 1997 and its chassis helped create a host of other cars within the Volkswagen Group namely the Volkswagen Bora, the new Beetle, the SEAT Toledo, SEAT Leon, Audi A3, Audi TT and Skoda Octavia. Other main models have been the Polo, a smaller car than the Golf, and the larger Passat for the segment above the Golf. The coupe models were the original Scirocco and the later Corrado which were both Golf-based. In the late 1990s Volkswagen acquired three luxury brands Lamborghini (through Audi), Bentley and Bugatti which were added to the group portfolio.
Volkswagen then began introducing an array of new models in 2002. The sixth-generation Volkswagen Golf was then launched in 2008 and has also spawned several variants under the Group brand namely VW Jetta, VW Scirocco, SEAT Leon, SEAT Toledo, Skoda Octavia and the Audi A3 hatchback ranges. There has also been a new mini-MPV, the SEAT Altea. The GTI, a "hot hatchback" performance version of the Golf, now boasts a 2.0-litre (FSI) direct injection engine. Volkswagen planned to add a compact SUV with styling influences from its "Concept A" concept vehicle and on July 20, 2006 they announced that the new vehicle would be called the Tiguan which was finally launched in 2008 and other new models included the Passat CC Coupe.
Volkswagen is now recognised as one of the leading small diesel engine manufacturers, and is partnering with Mercedes-Benz and other companies to market BlueTec clean diesel technology, calling it BlueMotion. Volkswagen offers a number of its vehicles with a TDI Turbocharged diesel engine, which returns class-leading fuel economy and low CO2 emissions.
Volkswagen had always resisted adding a utility vehicle to its line-up, but it finally relented with the introduction of the Touraeg in the early 2000s, which shared major components with the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 SUVs (sport utility vehicles).
Volkswagen has now established itself as one of the world's leading car and van manufacturers and is aiming to become the world's largest car maker by 2018.
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