The groundbreaking ceremony for the Volkswagen works took place on the "green field". Volkswagen AG made it into a global corporation in record time.
- The Volkswagen should be the car for everyone
- The Wolfsburg-based company holds shares and cooperations with other well-known car brands
- Today most of the shares are in the hands of the Piech and Porsche families
Wolfsburg - Anyone who should classify the Volkswagen Group geographically will probably first think of Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony . Here a complete city developed from a production facility. As a former Nazi model town, Wolfsburg can look back on a short history, because it was not until 1938 that the VW production plant became a town of its own. At that time, Adolf Hitler (56, 1945) pursued the plan to produce vehicles at this location that would be affordable for every citizen.
As early as March 1934, at the IAMA (international automobile and motorcycle exhibition), he demanded that appropriate plans should be drawn up for a cheap car. The Society for the Preparation of the German Volkswagen mbH selected the district near the town of Fallersleben and not far from Wolfsburg Castle. The owner of the castle and the land, Günther Graf von der Schulenburg (93, 1985), sold a large part of his land for fear of expropriation when the plans became known. In 1943 he finally sold the castle to the city of Wolfsburg , which at that time was still officially called "City of the KdF car near Fallersleben".
The foundation stone for the Volkswagen works was officially laid on May 26, 1938, and the first construction work began. The idea of the car for everyone (at that time Kraft-durch-Freude-Wagen) was put on hold at the beginning of the war, because now production had to be used for armaments. The Wehrmacht mainly used the Kübelwagen for military purposes . On trips abroad, General Manager Ferdinand Porsche had created ideas and sketches for a modern production facility in the USA. This made it possible to produce quickly and with high quality. Nevertheless, 20,000 forced laborers had to work in the factories under inhumane conditions. Many lost their lives. During the entire war period, only 630 civilian vehicles rolled off the assembly line for functionaries and high-ranking military employees.
Post-war at VW
In the post-war period, VW went on the road to success with the Beetle . After the British occupied the plant in the spring of 1945, the company was supposed to be liquidated. But the production of the Beetle was approved to provide economic support to the country. The millionth Beetle was celebrated as early as 1955.
In 1953 the company dared to leap across the pond and opened its plant in Sao Paolo / Brazil. In 1958, VW entered the commercial vehicle business and began producing the VW transporter at the Hanover-Stöcken location. The "Bulli" became the vehicle of the hippie movement. In the early 1980s, VW started its joint ventures with Shanghai and thus laid the foundation for German-Chinese cooperation. It was not until the 2000s that the group entered the Russian market (2006, VW Group Rus) and founded a plant in the USA (2008, Chattanooga). The 1,000th plant was opened in Mexico in 2013.
Today Volkswagen AG is the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Those interested can follow the history and production in the Autostadt Wolfsburg. General Motors and Toyota are the biggest competitors.
Divisions and brands of the Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen has long ceased to only serve the small and medium-sized car segment. By expanding business operations and skillfully taking over shares in other brands, VW can be found in all vehicle segments - since the takeover of Ducati by Group subsidiary AUDI, it has also been in the two-wheeler segment. The takeovers in a chronological overview:
- 1962 Takeover of Auto Union, the formerly strongest car manufacturer in Germany. 1965 VW buys 50 percent of the shares in car manufacturer AUDI from Daimler-Benz; AUDI becomes a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG1979 VW takes a stake in the Brazilian Chrysler subsidiary1986 SEAT joins the group1991 VW expands its production and its market to Southeastern Europe with the takeover of Skoda1998 Bentley and Bugatti roll under the roof of the VW parent company, in the same Year AUDI takes over the Lamborghini brand; 2008 VW rises with Scania in the first league of commercial vehicle manufacturers; VW combines the commercial vehicle business under the umbrella of Volkswagen Truck and Bus, which will later be renamed Traton, and in 2012 the complete takeover of the Porsche brand is achieved
Due to the constant restructuring and shedding of unprofitable branches, the group is subject to a constant change in company shares. VW holds shares in many other car manufacturers and suppliers through sub-participations. In 1961 the formerly state-owned company was privatized and converted into a stock corporation. At the IPO of the Volkswagen share, the share could be acquired at a price of 350 marks, but the price rose to 720 marks on the day of issue, as the share was several times oversubscribed. However, only 10 percent of the stocks are available in the market.
The state of Lower Saxony holds 20 percent of the shares through the VW law. The remaining 70 percent are accounted for by the Piech and Porsche families, who have withdrawn from the supervisory board and management board, but still have a significant say in corporate policy through their shares. In the past, the development of the share was often influenced by events that had nothing to do with actual business activity or that led to scandals and claims for damages. Allegations of industrial espionage, corruption or the VW emissions scandal have repeatedly led to price falls. The most influential and famous company bosses were
- Anton Piech (57, 1952), Ferdinand Porsche's son-in-law, headed the Wolfsburg plant from 1941-1944 Ferdinand Piech (82, 2019) managed the company's fortunes from 1993 to 2002 and was on the Supervisory Board until 2018; when he took office, he brought on Jose Ignacio Lopez moved from General Motors to VW, which resulted in a lawsuit for industrial espionage. Various board members were accused of influencing functionaries and high-ranking politicians through the presentation of money, prostitutes and other benefits. He therefore resigned on September 23, 2015, 2015-2018 Matthias Müller headed the board, and Herbert Diess has been the new CEO since 2018
The VW law: point of contention with the EU Commission
In the course of the partial privatization, the state of Lower Saxony secured a say in the company through the VW Act. Under the law, Lower Saxony has a blocking minority with a share of 20 percent, although according to the Stock Corporation Act this is only possible with a share of 25 percent. In addition, the state has two seats on the supervisory board. The EU Commission has already complained against this regulation twice because it saw it as a distortion of competition. However, the judges of the ECJ ruled that there was no unjustified preferential treatment of the country.
The flagships of Volkswagen AG
The Beetle was VW's first permanently produced model. In addition to the Kübelwagen produced during the war, the small model was able to establish itself worldwide. It was replaced by the New Beetle. The K 70 set new standards with more space and front-wheel drive. The Bullis are also classics, and they are an indispensable part of craft fleets or the surfing scene. In 1974 the first Golf rolled off the production line, which is now in its 8th generation. He is the namesake for the compact class of mid-range vehicles. The Passat, which was traded as a family car for a long time, represents the station wagon class. In the meantime it has been almost pushed out of the market by Sharan and Touran. VW succeeded in taking over the small car segment with the Polo. With the Phaeton, VW conquered the luxury class.
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