Established in 1937 by The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it is today after World War II by British Army officer Ivan Hirst.

In 1950, a lawsuit was issued that, after 12 years of trial, ultimately provided a credit of 12% off the list price of a new VW base model or 5-times less the value paid into the saving scheme.

[15][16] Erwin Komenda, the longstanding Auto Union chief designer, part of Ferdinand Porsche's hand-picked team,[6] developed the car body of the prototype, which was recognisably the Beetle known today.

War changed production to military vehicles—the Type 82 Kübelwagen ("Bucket car") utility vehicle (VW's most common wartime model), and the amphibious Schwimmwagen—manufactured for German forces.

The factory was placed under the control of British Army officer Major Ivan Hirst, REME, a civilian Military Governor with the occupying forces.

Since it had been used for military production, (though not of KdF-Wagens) and had been in Hirst's words, a "political animal" rather than a commercial enterprise—technically making it liable for destruction under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement—the equipment could have been salvaged as war reparations.

Hirst and his German assistant Heinrich Nordhoff (who went on to run the Wolfsburg facility after the military government ended in 1949) helped to stabilise the acute social situation while simultaneously re-establishing production.

Apart from the introduction of the Volkswagen Type 2 commercial vehicle (van, pick-up, and camper), and the VW Karmann Ghia sports car, Nordhoff pursued the one-model policy until shortly before his death in 1968.

[31] Although the car was becoming outdated, during the 1960s and early 1970s, American exports, innovative advertising, and a growing reputation for reliability helped production figures surpass the levels of the previous record-holder, the Ford Model T. On 17 February 1972, the 15,007,034th Beetle was sold.

To commemorate its passing the Ford Model T's record sales mark and its victories in the Baja 1000 Mexican races from 1967 to 1971, Volkswagen produced its first limited-edition Beetle.

[citation needed] The 1961 Type 1 Beetle had a 36 hp 1200cc four cylinder air-cooled flat-four opposed OHV engine made of aluminium alloy block and heads.

These differed substantially from previous vehicles, with the notable introduction of monocoque/unibody construction, the option of a fully automatic transmission, electronic fuel injection, and a sturdier powerplant.

The purchase of Auto Union and NSU was a pivotal point in Volkswagen's history, as both companies yielded the technological expertise that proved necessary for VW to survive when demand for its air-cooled models went into decline.

Rudolf Leiding, recently made head of Volkswagen, cited noise, heat, and servicing problems with the mid-engine layout, as well as the difficulty of making it a station wagon.

[citation needed] The second-generation Golf hatchback/Jetta sedan ran from October 1983 until the autumn of 1991, and a North American version produced at Westmoreland Assembly went on sale at the start of the 1985 model year.

In November 2020, Volkswagen announced that, trying to remain the world's largest carmaker in the green era, it has increased its investment in electric and self-driving cars to $86 billion over the next five years.

However, some news sources considered the announcement to be real, including the Associated Press, whose headline about being fooled stated, "Volkswagen caught lying again, this time about changing its name.

[78] In December 2023, VW announced that its brands selling in the North American market—Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Scout Motors—would adopt the Tesla-initiated NACS charging connector starting in 2025.

[79][80] In June 2024, VW stated that it will continue to heavily develop its internal combustion engine vehicles amid dwindling sales of its EV product line.

[81] In October 2024, Scout Motors announced it will sell directly to customers and service vehicles itself, following the model adopted by Tesla and other EV competitors, rather than use the Volkswagen dealer network.

In addition to plants in Germany, Volkswagen has manufacturing or assembly facilities in Mexico, the United States, Slovakia, China, India, Russia (sold to the Russian company Avilon in 2023[94]), Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and South Africa.

[97] In January 2016, Volkswagen announced the launch of a new factory in Algeria during a summit between Angela Merkel and Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal.

[119] Hedge funds desperate to cover their short positions forced Volkswagen stock above one thousand euros per share, briefly making it the world's largest company by market capitalisation on 28 October 2008.

The importance of the Brazilian market gave birth to several models developed and manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil, which include the Fox, Gol, Nivus, Saveiro, Virtus and Voyage.

[149][150]Volkswagen do Brasil produced and sold pure ethanol-powered (E100 only) vehicles in Brazil, and production was discontinued only after they were supplanted by more modern Flex Fuel technology.

As a response to the 1973 oil crisis, the Brazilian government began promoting bioethanol as a fuel, and the National Alcohol Program -Pró-Álcool- (Portuguese: Programa Nacional do Álcool) was launched in 1975.

[154][155] Petrol engines were modified to support hydrous ethanol characteristics and changes included compression ratio, amount of fuel injected, replacement of materials that would get corroded by contact with ethanol, use of colder spark plugs suitable for dissipating heat due to higher flame temperatures, and an auxiliary cold-start system that injects petrol from a small tank in the engine compartment to help starting when cold.

In order to comply with increasingly strict carbon dioxide emission limits in major markets, the VW Group expects to sell about one million all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles a year worldwide by 2025.

According to Thomas Ulbrich, VW brand production chief, the carmaker has the capacity to build as many as 75,000 battery-electric and plug-in hybrids a year if demand rises.

The standardised system will be designed for all body structures and vehicle types and will allow the company to build emotionally appealing EVs with a range of up to 310 mi (500 km).