The Volkswagen Group is a German car producer, with 100 places of production in 19 European countries. 550,000 employees work in the Volkswagen group and produce an average of 37,700 vehicles every day. The group sells its cars in more than 153 countries.
A bit of history about the brand: founded in 1937 by Ferdinand Porsche in Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen grew in importance during the Second World War. The name Volkswagen, which means "people's car", came from Adolf Hitler's desire to allow every German to buy a car, the aim being to fill the country's highways, a new but currently desert highway network.
As you can see here, the brand identity of Volkswagen has changed a lot in sixty years, the logo of VW evolved during the time.
The first Volkswagen model was born in 1938: this is the Coccinelle, or initially the Volkswagen Type 1. This now myt
hical car was, therefore, originally built as an object used as a propaganda tool for the Nazi regime. The Volkswagen company is born and will prosper for several decades thanks to this unique model, in a logic of "single industry". After World War II, the company was in ruins and decided to start producing vehicles for the British army: the company then acquired a manager who was a former manager of Opel. The company changes status and becomes a conglomerate that is then controlled by the West German government. In 1954, the one million copies of the Coccinelle were exceeded: it is then available as a sedan and a convertible. This Coccinelle is very well exported to the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, which will increase brand awareness.
VW's prosperity is based essentially on the production of the legendary Coccinelle. It was the only model produced and sold by the brand for almost 10 years, and the main model until 1960. Once production starts to run out, the car manufacturer decides to change strategy and diversify its production. This is how Combi is born: the legendary VW van.
Volkswagen, in line with its logic of diversification and renewal of production, launched Type 3 vehicles with models such as Notchbak, Fatsback and Variant in the early 1960s. However, Type 4 vehicles are a major failure for Volkswagen.
Volkswagen bought the Audi brand in 1964 and the Volkswagen AG group was born, giving birth to new legendary car models such as Golf (in 1974) and Polo. Today, the Volkswagen Group consists of the following brands:
· Volkswagen
· Audi
· Skoda
· Seat
· Porsche
· Bugatti
· Lamborghini
· MAN
· Ducati
· Bentley
In 2013, Volkswagen ranked second in the world's automaker, behind Japanese firm Toyota, with about 9 million car models sold.
The group then gives birth to models that are known today, namely Polo, Golf and Passat. The company decided to start producing Golf in the United States. This model consisted of a transverse liquid-cooled engine located in the front. The advantage of the golf course was undoubtedly the presence of a hayon and thus the possibility to optimize the space left behind.
In 1998, the Coccinelle was revisited and was called New Beetle and the brand opened up to new markets such as the prestige sedans and leisure SUVs and low sedans. In 2012, the Volkswagen group decided to merge with Porsche in order to continue its external growth.
Today, Volkswagen Group wants to become the leader in sustainable mobility, so the group is transforming itself and adopting a new vision: becoming the leading provider of sustainable mobility.
It is with this new objective that the German company wishes to prosper, however this market is already well-managed by other major brands such as Tesla. Volkswagen is therefore obliged to differentiate itself by offering something other than what is already on the market. This turning point will increasingly connect the automobile to the digital world for the greater happiness of future generations.
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