Volkswagen Beetle is the most popular car in the history of car manufacture.
German term Volks means “people”, Wagen means car, thus Volkswagen translates to “people’s car”.
It is originally called the KdF Wagen. KDF in German stands for Kraft durch Freude meaning “Strength through Joy”.
Volkswagen’s logo is VW.
In the early 1930s, cars were a luxury and most Germans could not afford to buy cars in Germany.
At that time, Germany had only half the number of cars of Britain or France.
Only one German out of 50 had a car those days.
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Ferdinand Porsche, a well-known designer, had a dream to make a small car, in the shape of a beetle, suitable and affordable for a small family.
He was looking after for a manufacturer, to fulfil his dreams.
Adolf Hitler, got involved in the project, and took personal interest in the development of the Volkswagen, the“people’s car”.
The intention was to provide a new industry, new jobs, and a car so cheap, that ordinary Germans would buy the car, by means of a savings scheme.
Accordingly, Dr Porsche designed people’s car that was cheap to build and run.
Its rear-mounted, air-cooled engine cut down the number of parts needed, and also reduced weight. Thus an automaker in the name of Volkswagen, was founded in 1937, by the German Labor Front.
The first completed Volkswagen cars, were exhibited at Munich, and Vienna, in October 1938.
Another one was presented to, Adolf Hitler, at the International Motor Show in Berlin, on 17th February 1939.
Hitler gave it to his girlfriend, Eva Braun, as a birthday gift.
However, few civilians managed to obtain the Beetle, before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
After the war, the Beetle proved so popular, that eventually more than 20 million cars were sold.
Today, Volkswagen Group, is a large international corporation.
It has the largest sales worldwide, during 2016 and 2017.
It’s got the biggest market in China. It delivers 40% of its sales and profits in China only.
It also has large markets in Europe, and Latin America, and has turned out to be Europe’s largest automaker. The Volkswagen brand produces various models, which consists of global products and regional products.
The company’s famous brands are, Audi, SEAT, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, Scania, and Škoda, etc.
Its global headquarters is located in, Wolfsburg in Germany.
It has over 74000 employees, and over 7700 dealerships.
For a long time, Volkswagen has had a market share over 20 percent.
In addition to plants in Germany, Volkswagen has factories all over the world, to deal with the local market.
These plants are located in Mexico, the United States, Slovakia, China, India, Russia, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and South Africa.
In 2011, Volkswagen was named in the top 25 largest companies, in the world, by the Forbes Global 2000.
The Volkswagen, set up AutoMuseum in Wolfsburg, dedicated to the history of Volkswagen.
Volkswagen’s annual report in 2019, says that its best-selling model globally is the Tiguan, followed by Virtus, Vento, Ameo, Golf, Lavida, Kombi and so on.
In 1978, Volkswagen developed VW pure ethanol prototype car, VW do Brasil.
The 2003 VW Gol 1.6 Total Flex, was the first full flexible-fuel vehicle launched in Brazil.
Volkswagen and Sanyo have teamed up, to develop a battery system for hybrid cars.
The Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid, gets 48 US miles per gallon, that is 20.4 kilometers per liter, in highway.
Volkswagen Golf GTE is a plug-in hybrid.
As of May 2016, nine plug-in electric cars were offered for retailers.
The Volkswagen XL1 is the most fuel-efficient car in the world, with a mileage as high as 261 miles per gallon.
The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Diesel Sedan, was awarded Green Car of the Year.
The Volkswagen-up, won the 2012 World Car of the Year.
Volkswagen has made, many motorsport cars such as Porsche Type 64 racer, Twin-engine racing Beetle, Bora, Race Touareg 2, etc.
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