In 1948 Pierre D'Ieteren, scion of a family of industrialists[1] with a long established coach-building business, entered into an agreement with Volkswagen to import cars into Belgium.

[2] As the auto industry recovered from the hiatus created by war, it was beginning to become clear that in Belgium, as in much of Europe, the future for volume auto-manufacturing lay with smaller cars than those designed for North America, and from 1954 the plant started to assemble Volkswagens alongside the Studebakers.

At this time the plant covered an area of more than 314,000 square meters, and the workforce of 750 people were producing approximately 75 cars per day.

A year later, with the western world's appetite for Beetles no longer insatiable, the plant produced its 1,143,464th and final Volkswagen Type 1 in 1975.

A few days later the company made public its intentions to compensate for the loss of the Golf by producing a yet to be announced small Audi at the Brussels plant.

[5] A trades union demonstration in December 2006 was joined by between 15,000 and 25,000 people, and considerable political pressure was applied in defence of the auto-industry jobs involved.

Despite the economic difficulties confronting the European auto industry in 2010, it was reported that the Audi A1 and the supportive approach of the Vorst plant workforce would guarantee 2,200 jobs for the ensuing six years.