Volkswagen's history is closely tied to the political history of Germany and the life cycle of one particular car. The company was founded in 1937 by the Nazi government of Germany as a state-owned car company called Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH. Later that year, the decision was made to simplify the name to Volkswagenwerk, or The People's Car Company.
With its headquarters in Wolfsburg, the company was operated by the German Labour Front. Hitler envisioned the future of German motoring and planned not only to build a network of autobahns across the country, but also to develop and mass produce an affordable and fast car that could be sold for under 1000 Reich marks (roughly $140 at that time). He called on famed Austrian and German automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche to design the car, which became known as the "Strength-Through-Joy” car. However, soon after its debut at the 1939 Berlin Motor Show, war broke out and production was halted. Post-war, the Allies made Volkswagen the focus of their attempts to revive the German motor industry. It is because of the Nazi connection that VW sales were slow at first in the USA. The American market was also not used to the small size and rounded shape of the car. It was through a smart ad campaign which called the car the Beetle that sales began to soar, becoming the top selling import.
In 1960, 60% of Volkswagen' stock was sold to the public, thereby denationalising the company. In 1972, the Beetle surpassed the Ford Model T's longstanding worldwide production record of 15 million vehicles!
In the 1970s, sales of the Beetle began to slow down and VW launched the sportier Rabbit and Golf. VW's Karmann-Ghia had been selling well since the 60s and other models kept VW at the forefront of European car production. In the 80s and 90s, the VW Golf was the popular choice for young drivers while Jetta and Passat were family favourites. This century, VW Polo is a top seller with crossover SUV models like the T-Cross, Tourag and Touran keeping VW in the SUV game.
Today, the VW group consists of ten European brands: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, ŠKODA, SEAT, CUPRA, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche and Ducati.
The company continues to innovate and believes that, “The world of mobility will change fundamentally by 2030: electric drive and fully-networked transportation with autonomous drive will determine how we move around in future. With the Group strategy “NEW AUTO - Mobility for Generations to Come”, the Volkswagen Group is a significant driver of this transformation and accelerates its realignment from vehicle manufacturer to tech company.” (https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/strategy.html)
Today with beloved models like the Golf, Polo, Jetta, T-Cross, Tuareg and Touran, Volkswagen has become one of the world's most successful car manufacturers.