Volkswagen AG, or Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Since the late 2000s, it has been a publicly traded family business owned by Porsche SE, which in turn is half-owned but fully controlled by the Austrian-German Porsche and Piëch family.[7][8] The company also offers financing, leasing, and fleet management services. In 2024, it was the world's second-largest automaker by sales. It has maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades.[9] It ranked 11th in the 2024 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies.[10] In 2024, Volkswagen Group was the largest company in the European Union and the largest car manufacturer in the world by revenue.[11]
The Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the Audi, Bentley, Cupra, Jetta, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda and Volkswagen brands, motorcycles under the Ducati name, light commercial vehicles under the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand, and heavy commercial vehicles via the marques of the listed subsidiary Traton (International Motors, MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Truck & Bus).[12] Software and techstack under
Volkswagen was founded in Berlin in 1937 and incorporated in Wolfsburg to manufacture the car that would become known as the Beetle. The company's production grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1965, it acquired Auto Union, which subsequently produced the first postwar Audi models. Volkswagen launched a new generation of front-wheel drive vehicles in the 1970s, including the Passat, Polo and Golf; the latter became its bestseller. Volkswagen acquired a controlling stake in SEAT in 1986, making it the first non-German marque of the company, and acquired control of Škoda in 1994, of Bentley, Lamborghini, and Bugatti in 1998, Scania in 2008 and of Ducati, MAN, and Porsche in 2012. The company's operations in China have grown rapidly in the 2010s, with the country becoming its largest market, though sales have declined significantly in the 2020s.[13]
In 2015, Volkswagen was discovered to have used defeat devices to deceive environmental regulators about how much NOx its cars were emitting. The company was fined billions of dollars.
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is a public company and has a primary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index, and secondary listings on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and SIX Swiss Exchange. It has been traded in the United States via American depositary receipts since 1988, currently on the OTC Marketplace. Volkswagen delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2013.[14][15] The government of Lower Saxony holds 12.7% of the company's shares, granting it, by law, 20% of the voting rights.[16]
History
1937 to 1945
Volkswagen (lit. 'People's wagon') was founded in Berlin as the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH ('Limited Liability Company for the preparation of the German People's Car', abbreviated to Gezuvor) by the National Socialist Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labour Front) and incorporated in the Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben, ("City of the Strength Through Joy car at Fallersleben) on 28 May 1937.[17][18] The purpose of the company was to manufacture the Volkswagen car, originally referred to as the Porsche Type 60, then the Volkswagen Type 1, and commonly called the Volkswagen Beetle.[19] This vehicle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche's consulting firm, and the company was backed by the support of Adolf Hitler.[20]
Operations
Rooted in Europe, the Volkswagen Group operates in 153 countries.[89] Volkswagen Passenger Cars is the Group's original marque, and the other major subsidiaries include passenger car marques such as Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, and Škoda. Volkswagen AG also has operations in commercial vehicles, owning Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, along with controlling stakes in truck, bus and diesel engine manufacturers Scania AB and MAN SE.[90]
Corporate affairs
Business trends
In February 2025, Volkswagen's market capitalization was valued at US$50.5 billion.[104] The key trends for the Volkswagen Group are (as at the financial year ending March 3):[105][106][107]
Ownership
Under the Volkswagen Law, no shareholder in Volkswagen AG could exercise more than 20 percent of the firm's voting rights, regardless of their level of stock holding.[115]
Sponsorships
Volkswagen is heavily involved in sports sponsorship, with investments having included the 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2014 Winter Olympics,[140][141] as well as the David Beckham Academy. Volkswagen AG wholly owns the Bundesliga football side VfL Wolfsburg;[142] the company is also the shirt sponsor of League of Ireland Premier Division Sligo Rovers and top level of the Mexican football league system Liga MX team Puebla F.C.
See also
- List of automobile manufacturers
- List of automobile manufacturers of Germany
- List of Volkswagen Group factories
- List of Volkswagen Group platforms
- Wolfsburg Volkswagen Plant
- Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies
External links
References
- Extensive revision of Volkswagen Group management structure decided Volkswagen Media Services, retrieved 12 April 2018^
- Oliver Blume follows Herbert Diess as Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group Volkswagen News, 22 July 2022, retrieved 1 September 2022^
- "Team spirit, fairness and passion are key"