Volkswagen AG, also known as the Volkswagen Group internationally and with its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, is a multinational automobile manufacturer. The business creates, produces, and sells motorcycles, passenger and commercial vehicles, engines, and turbomachinery in addition to providing related services including financing, leasing, and fleet management. It held the title of largest carmaker in the world in 2016 and continued to hold it in 2017, 2018 and 2019, selling 10.9 million vehicles. [7] For more than 20 years, it has consistently held the greatest market share in Europe. [8] On the 2020 Fortune Global 500 list of the biggest businesses in the world, it came in at number seven. [9]
In addition to selling passenger cars under the Audi, Bentley, Cupra, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, koda, and Volkswagen names, the Volkswagen Group also sells motorcycles under the Ducati brand, light commercial vehicles under the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles name, and heavy commercial vehicles under the names of listed subsidiary Traton (IC Bus, International, MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Caminhes e nibus). It consists of the Automotive Division and the Financial Services Division as its two main divisions, and as of 2008, it had roughly 342 subsidiary businesses. [10] FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen are two other significant joint ventures for Volkswagen in China. The business operates in about 150 nations and has 100 production sites spread across 27 nations.
In 1937, Volkswagen was established in Berlin and incorporated in Wolfsburg with the goal of producing the car that would come to be known as the Beetle. In the 1950s and 1960s, the company’s production increased significantly. It purchased Auto Union in 1965, which went on to build the first Audi vehicles after World War II. In the 1970s, Volkswagen introduced a new line of front-wheel-drive cars, including the Passat, Polo, and Golf, which went on to become its best-selling model. SEAT became Volkswagen’s first non-German brand when the corporation acquired a controlling interest in it in 1986. Volkswagen also gained ownership of koda in 1994, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Bugatti in 1998, Scania in 2008, and Ducati, MAN, and Porsche in 2012. Over the past ten years, the company’s operations in China have expanded significantly, making China its largest market.
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is a publicly traded business with secondary listings on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and SIX Swiss Exchange in addition to its principal listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, where it is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. Since 1988, it has been traded via American depositary receipts in the US; it is currently traded on the OTC Market. In 2013, Volkswagen ceased trading on the London Stock Exchange. [11] [12] 12.7% of the company’s shares are owned by the Lower Saxony government, giving it legally 20% of the voting rights. [13]
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Is the government the owner of Volkswagen?
The German government, then governed by Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, establishes a new state-owned vehicle corporation on May 28th, 1937, under the name Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH. It was called simply Volkswagenwerk later that year, meaning “People’s Car Corporation.
Volkswagen’s original owners were the Nazi-affiliated German Labor Front, and the company was based in Wolfsburg, Germany. Hitler’s pet project was the creation and mass production of a cheap yet quick automobile that could sell for less than 1,000 Reich marks (about $140 at the time), in addition to his grandiose ambition to establish a network of autobahns and controlled access motorways throughout Germany. To create the layout for this “Hitler enlisted the German and Austrian automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche to develop the people’s automobile. The Fuhrer said during a Nazi rally in 1938: “This car was created with the general public in mind. Its goal is to satisfy their desire for mobility while also making them happy. Although the KdF (Kraft-durch-Freude)-Wagen ( “In 1939, as World War II broke out and Volkswagen ceased manufacturing, the maiden demonstration of the Strength-Through-Joy vehicle (or STH car) took place at the Berlin Motor Show. The Allies would make Volkswagen the center of their efforts to revive the German auto industry after the war, leaving the factory in ruins.
Due to the car’s historical Nazi links, small size, and unique rounded design, Volkswagen sales in the United States started off slower than in other areas of the world. The advertising firm Doyle Dane Bernbach developed a historic campaign in 1959, dubbed the vehicle the “Beetle and presented its small size as a clear benefit to customers. In the ensuing years, VW surpassed all other auto imports in terms of sales in the country. Volkswagen was effectively denationalized in 1960 when the German government sold 60 percent of the company’s equity to the general public. Twelve years later, the Volkswagen Beetle broke the renowned Model T’s record of 15 million automobiles produced globally between 1908 and 1927.
Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle slowed down in the early 1970s because of the car’s mostly unaltered design since 1935. With the release of sportier vehicles like the Rabbit and later, the Golf, VW recovered. In 1998, the business started offering the acclaimed “while keeping up with the production of its predecessor, the New Beetle. On July 30, 2003, in Puebla, Mexico, the final original Beetle came off the assembly line after over 70 years and more than 21 million cars built.
What kind of organization is the Volkswagen Group?
The German government established the Volkswagen Group, commonly known as Volkswagen AG, as a significant vehicle company in order to mass-produce an affordable “people’s car” in 1937. German city of Wolfsburg serves as the headquarters. The German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront), a Nazi group, first ran the business.
Volkswagen was privatized when?
The official name of the statute, commonly referred to as the “VW-Gesetz,” is “Gesetz ber die berfhrung der Anteilsrechte a der Volkswagenwerk Gesellschaft with beschrnkter Haftung in private Hand.” It came into effect when Volkswagenwerk GmbH was privatized on July 28, 1960. Regardless of the size of the ownership, the government of the German state of Lower Saxony kept a voting share of 20.2 percent, giving it the power to reject significant decisions and stop takeovers by other shareholders. [5] Additionally, it permitted the appointment of two individuals to the board of directors of the Volkswagen Group by the Lower Saxony government.
Who is Volkswagen’s greatest shareholder?
Stephan Weil said he thought the firm had potential much above its value and that it was not the right moment to explore capital increases as Volkswagen and its largest shareholder Porsche SE get ready to float sportscar maker Porsche in part to raise money. Weil remarked on the eve of his election campaign, “I am sure Volkswagen has incredible potential. There is a lot to imply that its initiatives surrounding batteries would boost the value of the firm in a sustainable way.
As the automaker unveiled aggressive electrification goals in March 2021, Volkswagen’s market capitalization surpassed 100 billion euros ($99.89 billion), but has since fallen to 82.9 billion euros due to a general European downturn this year.
The state of Nordwestdeutschland, which hosts the global headquarters of Volkswagen and receives hundreds of millions of euros in dividend payments and corporate taxes from the automaker, has an 11.8% interest and exercises 20% of the voting power.
Weil said discussions on a potential Porsche listing, which could happen as soon as next week, have gone well so far and that the state is still committed to its ownership stake in the Group.
(Andreas Rinke reported; Victoria Waldersee wrote)
By Paul Carrel (editing)
What does the German word “Volkswagen” mean?
Although Volkswagen is a well-known name, many people are unaware of what Volkswagen stands for. Volkswagen is a German automaker. Volkswagen means “the people’s car” in German. Given that Volkswagen is renowned for its dependability, this makes sense. You can rely on Ancira Volkswagen of San Antonio to uphold the Volkswagen brand and give you sturdy, dependable automobiles. Contact our dealership in San Antonio, Texas right now if you require any help choosing a new Volkswagen vehicle. Come see us in Texas’ San Antonio.
How can I purchase VW shares in the US?
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Which automaker is the largest?
The automobile industry plays a significant role in the global economy by creating vehicles that efficiently move people and products across entire continents as well as within individual countries. These businesses produce automobiles, trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Some even manufacture motorbikes, all-terrain vehicles, as well as buses and trucks used for business purposes. The top automakers offer vehicles to people and businesses all over the world, which is an extraordinarily extensive global presence. Only a few leading industrial nations, including Japan, Germany, and the U.S., are home to the majority of these large corporations, but two other countries are represented on the list of the ten largest: Italy and South Korea.
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Is Volkswagen the owner of Ferrari?
Ferrari is not owned by Volkswagen. Ferrari continues to be one of the few really independent supercar brands in the world since the majority of its ownership is open to the public.
Volkswagen became a publicly traded corporation when?
Volkswagen AG shares are principally traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange[96], where they are identified by the tickers “VOW” and “VOW3.” The shares were issued at a cost of DM 350 per DM 100 share when they were first listed in August 1961. [96] The shares of Volkswagen AG are now divided into two categories: “ordinary shares” and “preference shares.” [96] Presently, the preference shares are listed under the WKN 766403 and ISIN DE0007664039 codes, while the ordinary shares are traded under the WKN 766400 and ISIN DE0007664005 codes. [96]
On more significant local and international stock exchanges, Volkswagen AG shares are also listed and traded. Since 1961, these have included the domestic exchanges in Berlin, Dsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, and Stuttgart. Basel (listed in 1967), Geneva (1967), Zrich (1967), Luxembourg (1979), London (1988), and New York all have international exchanges (1988). [96]
Volkswagen AG shares have undergone two stock splits since the company’s shares began trading in 1961. The first stock split occurred on March 17, 1969, when shares were divided in half, or 2:1, from a DM 100 share to a DM 50 share. The second split took place on July 6, 1998, with a 1:10 conversion of the DM 50 share into a share with no overall nominal value. [96]
Volkswagen AG preferred shares replaced its common shares in the DAX index as of December 23, 2009.
[97]
A Volkswagen Type 3 is what?
From 1961 until 1973, the Type 3 expanded the lineup and was offered as an estate car, a two-door notchback and fastback sedan, and both. The central tube platform chassis, torsion bar suspension, and air-cooled rear engine, which at first produced 45 PS and was derived from the Beetle, were key DNA traits of the Type 3. However, this vehicle featured extra space and a rear trunk that was accessible from the outside. The fastback model TL debuted in February 1962 after the estate variant (“touring limousine). Volkswagen updated the series in 1969 with a flat-four engine that was 1,600 cm long rather than 1,500 cm, new bumpers, an expanded front trunk, wider direction indicators extending around the corners, and new rear lights. With more than 2.6 million units made, this model was a hit.
Describe a VW Type 2.
The Volkswagen Type 2 is a forward-control light commercial vehicle that was released in 1950 by the German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model. It is officially referred to as the Transporter, Kombi, or Microbus, depending on the body type, as well as colloquially as the Bus (US), Camper (UK), or Bulli (Germany). It was given the factory designation Type 2 and originally derived from Volkswagen’s first model, the Type 1 (Beetle). [2]
The Chevrolet Corvair 95 Corvan, which adopted the rear-engine layout of the Corvair car in the same way that the VW Type 2 adopted the Type 1 design, was one of the competitors of the Type 2 in the United States in the 1960s. Other competitors included the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Dodge A100.