Originally part of Volkswagen Passenger Cars (business area), it has operated as a separate marque since 1995.

[1] In 1949, Volkswagen General Director Heinrich Nordhoff approved Ben Pon's sketch for production.

[1] In 1975, the first generation of the "LastenTransporter" LT was released which opened the door to Volkswagen in the light truck sector.

In 1990, the fourth-generation Transporter/Multivan (T4) was released and VWCV celebrated 40 years of the Transporter, with 6 million produced since its 1950 introduction.

The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle unit launched a joint venture to replace their aging large vans, and the jointly developed Volkswagen LT and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter were launched onto the market with success.

At the IAA in Hanover, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles revealed various new models including the new fourth global line in the guise of a Concept Pickup, Caddy 4Motion, Caddy PanAmericana Study and Crafter BlueMotion Study.

In 2009, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles operations in Brazil revealed the new fifth-generation Saveiro utility for emerging markets.

VWCV revealed at IAA Frankfurt the T5 Transporter facelift which included new engines and technology to benefit the class.

[9] Lastly in 2009, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles established its Latin American offices in Miami, Florida, to cater to the Central and South Americas region.

In April 2011, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles released a revised Crafter with three new redesigned TDI engines,[12] and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles showed their electric Caddy prototype at the Hanover Trade Fair.

[14] Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles also revealed the Amarok with 8 speed transmission and a new 132 kW/180os engine with 420 Nm and a towing capacity of 3.2 tonnes.

[15] In November 2011, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles released the ultra luxurious Multivan Business.

[18] In June 2012, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles' small van, the Caddy, became available with Park Assist.

[20] In September 2012, Dr. Eckhard Scholz was appointed Speaker for the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

[21] In September 2016, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles released the new version of the Crafter, in the newly built factory in Września, Poland.

[22] Volkswagen's first joint venture into trucks outside of their own LT range was with MAN Nutzfahrzeuge (Commercial Vehicles) from 1977 to 1993.

The original lineup in the UK consisted of the 6.90 and the 8.90 (the first digit denoting the GVW in tonnes, the second for power in metric horsepower) and the 8.136 and 9.136.

[23] MAN AG supplied engines which were available in inline-four and inline-six cylinder engine configurations, with DIN rated motive power outputs of: MAN AG replaced the G series (as it was known internally) with the L2000 and M2000 ranges.

VWCV and MAN shared the project development in accordance with the collaboration agreement as follows: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles took care of: the VW LT Mk 1 cabin was used for the MAN-VW range, the cabins are wider than the standard LT cabins so they can fit the truck chassis MAN was responsible for: MAN-VWCVs were built in Volkswagen's Hanover factory until other Volkswagen models took priority; they were then made at MAN AG's Salzgitter-Watenstedt factory.

Several models of the MAN-VWCV and the VWCV LT ranges were marketed in Spain by Enasa as Pegaso Ekus, in a typical badge engineering operation.

This partnership was to help Toyota build sales in Europe and give VW a vehicle in the 1 tonne pick-up segment.