Volkswagen Konzern (Russian concern "Volkswagen", in English sources - Volkswagen Group, sometimes VW Group - a German automobile concern (group of companies). The head (parent) company of the concern is Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, more commonly known as Volkswagen AG (formerly VAG - the abbreviation was deciphered as Volkswagen Audi Gruppe).The company is headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany.The company is named after the brand Volkswagen (German: Volkswagen) - "people's car". As of September 2011, 50.73% of the voting shares of Volkswagen AG belong to the holding Porsche SE In turn, Volkswagen AG owns 100% of the ordinary shares of the intermediate holding Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH, and Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH owns 100% of the shares of luxury car manufacturer Porsche AG Negotiations are underway to merge into a single structure VW-Porsche Currently Martin Winterkorn is simultaneously Chairman of the Management Board of Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG. kswagen is made up of 342 companies involved in vehicle manufacturing and related services. According to the results of 9 months of 2009, it was the world's largest car manufacturer. Ranked 14th on the Fortune Global 500 (2009). From July 1998 to December 2002, a division of the Volkswagen Bentley Group produced cars under the Rolls-Royce brand under an agreement with BMW, which acquired the rights to this brand from Vickers. Since 2003, only BMW has been able to produce cars under the Rolls-Royce brand. In December 2009, the Volkswagen Group entered into an alliance with the Japanese Suzuki, exchanging blocks of shares with the latter (the Germans received a 20% stake in Suzuki) and announcing the joint development of environmentally friendly cars. Less than two years later, in September 2011, the breakup of this alliance was announced. The divisions of the Volkswagen Group are: Volkswagen (passenger cars) - at present, the part of the group engaged in the production of passenger cars is not registered as a subsidiary joint-stock company, but directly reports to the management of Volkswagen AG. Audi is the last car brand of the Auto Union group, acquired from Daimler-Benz in 1964. NSU Motorenwerke - was acquired in 1969 and entered the Audi Division. Not used as an independent brand since 1977. Seat - a controlling stake in the company (53%) was acquired from the state in 1986. Since 1990, the brand has practically been the property of the Volkswagen Group, which owns 99.99% of the company's shares. Škoda - the company was acquired in 1991. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge) - was part of Volkswagen AG, but in 1995, thanks to the efforts of Bernd Weideman, the group's previous chairman of the board, it became an independent division within the Volkswagen Group. The division is engaged in the production of commercial vehicles: minibuses, buses and tractors. Bentley, the company was acquired in 1998 from the British concern Vickers along with Rolls-Royce, but cannot independently produce cars under this brand, since the brand itself was sold to BMW. Bugatti - the brand was acquired in 1998. Lamborghini was acquired by a subsidiary of Audi in 1998. Scania AB - a controlling stake in the company (70.94%) was acquired in 2009. It produces truck tractors, trucks and dump trucks, buses and diesel engines. MAN AG - a controlling stake in the company (55.9%) was acquired in 2011. Manufacturer of truck tractors, trucks and dump trucks, buses, diesel and hybrid engines. Porsche - 49.9% of Porsche AG acquired in 2009. By 2011, a merger with parent Porsche SE was planned to create a single integrated car company, but this did not happen. The merger between Porsche and Volkswagen has been postponed indefinitely. And finally, in 2012, the Volkswagen Group completed the acquisition of Porsche, which made it the 12th brand in the German group. The deal was closed after Volkswagen acquired a 50.1 percent stake in Porsche, which cost the concern 4.49 billion euros and one of its ordinary shares. The Volkswagen Group is one of the largest shareholders of the Japanese company Suzuki Motor Corporation. Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. - one of the leading manufacturers of premium motorcycles, acquired by a division of the Volkswagen Group - Audi AG - on April 18, 2012 from Investindustrial SpA for $ 1.1 billion. Also, as of 2013, Volkswagen is the owner of the Russian trademark "Moskvich". The right to use the brand and all emblems remains with Volkswagen until 2021. In March 1991, in order to optimize the organizational structure, Volkswagen forms an internal division called Volkswagen Finanz, which in January 1994 becomes independent within the group as a closed joint-stock company Volkswagen Financial Services. 100% of the share capital belongs to the Volkswagen Group. As a banking and financial structure, Volkswagen Financial Services gains access to international financial markets and the opportunity to finance projects on favorable terms. The Group's financial division, Volkswagen Financial Services, is currently the largest financial operator in the automotive market in Europe, headquartered in Braunschweig. The assets of Volkswagen Financial Services as of December 31, 2009 amounted to more than 60.2 billion euros. Volkswagen Financial Services employs more than 5,000 people worldwide, including 3,600 employees based in Germany itself. The division is engaged in: financing of production and purchase of cars for private and corporate clients (Volkswagen Bank); provision of banking services to private and corporate clients (Volkswagen Bank direct/Audi Bank direct); providing insurance services to private and corporate clients (Volkswagen Bank GmbH/Volkswagen-Versicherungsdienst: Volkswagen Bank, Audi Bank, Seat Bank, Škoda Bank); provision of leasing services to private and corporate clients (Volkswagen Leasing); fleet management (Volkswagen Leasing/LeasePlan Corporation); In 2010, the Volkswagen Group's revenue amounted to €57.243 billion, net profit - €1.55 billion In 2009, despite the global crisis and the general decline in car sales, the company managed to increase car sales worldwide by 0.6%. This is a sales record, which reached the level of 6.23 million vehicles. In 2006, the concern sold 5.72 million vehicles worth €104.9 billion (net profit for this period amounted to €2.75 billion). More than 370 thousand people work at the Group's enterprises. In 2005, the concern produced 5219.5 thousand and sold 5192.6 thousand cars. 7.5% of sales came from Germany, 44.7% from Europe, 15% from North America, 6.6% from Asia Pacific, 4.4% from South America and 1.8% from Africa. Revenue in 2005 amounted to €95.3 billion, an increase of 7% compared to 2004, net profit - €1.12 billion (€697 million in 2004). Production The Volkswagen Group owns 48 automotive manufacturing plants in 15 European countries and six countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. More than 370 thousand people work at the enterprises of the group, more than 26`600 cars are produced daily, authorized sales and car servicing are carried out in more than 150 countries of the world. Plans for a corporate merger between Porsche AG and Volkswagen were unveiled in May 2009. Negotiations are suspended at this stage due to insufficient clarity on Porsche's financial position. Volkswagen Group in Russia On May 29, 2006 Volkswagen Group signed an investment agreement with the administration of the Kaluga Region and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia on the construction of an automobile plant near the city of Kaluga, in the technopark Grabtsevo. At the end of July 2007, the EBRD, which is one of the project's lenders, estimated the total cost of the project, including the cost of organizing the production of components, at 1.042 billion euros. Initially, the plant, opened on November 28, 2007, produced Škoda Octavia cars in the amount of no more than 20 thousand cars per year using SKD technology (Semi Knocked Down - assembling cars from large blocks or “large-scale assembly”). In October 2009, the plant launched a full-fledged CKD (Completely Knocked Down) car assembly line - a complete assembly of a car from finished parts, including body welding. First, Škoda Octavia and Volkswagen Tiguan were produced using the CKD method, in 2010 Škoda Fabia and Volkswagen Polo sedan, specially designed for the Russian market, were launched. It is expected that after the opening of a new production facility, the plant will be able to produce up to 150,000 vehicles per year (including the Audi A4, A5, Q5, A6 and Q7 - all using the SKD method). The number of employees at the plant in 2010 will be increased to 3 thousand people On January 12, 2009, a reorganization took place in the form of the merger of two Russian subsidiaries. Volkswagen Group Rus LLC was joined by Volkswagen Rus LLC. The first was registered in Moscow in 1999 (before 2003 it was called Volkswagen Group Automobiles LLC) and was an import structure that manages sales and after-sales service for cars. The second one was established in 2006 in Kaluga to manage a new plant where Volkswagen and Škoda cars are assembled. According to the company, the merger will simplify the coordination between Kaluga and Moscow, and will also allow to combine personnel and finances. Dietmar Korzekwa (since 2010 - Markus Ozegowicz) became the CEO of the new structure. In October 2009, the following models were assembled at the plant in Kaluga: Skoda Octavia, Octavia Combi, Octavia Tour, Octavia RS, Octavia Scout, Škoda Superb, Škoda Roomster, Škoda Fabia, Škoda Fabia Combi, Škoda Yeti, Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Passat CC, Volkswagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Touareg, Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen T5, Volkswagen T5 lang, Volkswagen Caddy and Volkswagen Caddy maxy. Since 2012, Volkswagen has also started producing cars at the GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod. The cooperation agreement with the Russian GAZ Group was signed on June 14, 2011. Production of Volkswagen Jetta, Skoda Octavia and Škoda Yeti brands is planned in Nizhny Novgorod. At the beginning of 2013, the production of a full cycle of Skoda Yeti was mastered in Nizhny Novgorod. Other models are coming soon. At the end of October 2009, Volkswagen Group Rus LLC announced that it was working on a project for a budget B-class sedan, created on the basis of the Polo hatchback specifically for the Russian market. In early June 2010, it became known about the practical readiness of the car, called the Volkswagen Polo sedan. The car was put into production at the plant in Kaluga in the summer of 2010.

The Volkswagen Group is one of the world's largest automotive companies. It currently consists of 12 companies:

Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley, Man, Scania, Volkswagen commercial vehicles, Porsche and Ducati.

A few facts about each company that is part of the concern.

The beginning of the creation of the Volkswagen company was laid in October 1933 in Berlin, where Adolf Hitler announced the need to create a reliable and inexpensive car for the people of Germany.

The Fuhrer's demand was embodied in metal by the brilliant designer Ferdinand Porsche, who already in January 1934 presented the drawings of the first car for the people, which was called the "people's car" ("Volks-Wagen"). The basis of the people's car was the previously developed model Porsche Typ 60.

During World War II, work on the construction of Volkswagen was suspended, and the unfinished plant was converted to the production of military products.

VW opened its divisions in 1959 in Brazil - "Volkswagen do Brasil S.A.", and then in Mexico "Volkswagen de Mexico S.A. de C.V."

The Golf I, introduced in 1974, marked a new stage of competition in the production of a class of compact cars that became almost officially called the "golf class".

Volkswagen has given the world iconic vehicles and is firmly in first place in many automotive niches.

Autostadt (Autostadt) - a real city within a city with a length of more than 5 km and an area of ​​25 hectares, which is the communication platform of the Volkswagen Group, its individual brands and customers. The complex is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Germany, which is visited annually by about 2 million people. The Volkswagen Autostadt is located on the bank of an artificial canal between the center of Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen factory.

Volkswagen has its own football team (VFL "Wolfsburg") with the excellent home stadium Volkswagen Arena.

2. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles

This is part of the Volkswagen Group, which produces commercial vehicles such as minibuses, buses, pickups, trucks and tractors.

Initially, this division was one part of VW, but in 1995, Dr. Bernd Wiedemann, former chairman of the board of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, announced the separation of the division into an independent production unit of the group.

The Audi concern was formed as a result of the merger of four companies that produced cars and motorcycles under the brands DKW, Horch, Audi and Wanderer. On June 29, 1932, Audi, Horch and DKW merged to form Auto Union AG, symbolized by the famous four rings.

In 1964, the company became part of Volkswagen. In 1965, it was decided to release all new models of the concern that had lost its independence under the Audi brand. The first time after the takeover of Volkswagen did not want Audi to develop its own cars. They were going to produce the VW "Beetle" model at the enterprise's facilities. But Ludwig Kraus, who was then the head of the design department, decided to develop the model secretly from everyone. The result of his work was the Audi 100, which appeared in 1968.

In 1993, the Audi Group was formed, which eventually included the Hungarian and Brazilian divisions, the British Cosworth Technology, the Italian Automobili Lamborghini and the Spanish SEAT were absorbed.

4. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (shortly: Lamborghini) is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars. Located in the village of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna. The company was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini.

In 1978, due to the oil crisis, the company declared itself bankrupt. For the next 20 years, Automobili Lamborghini was owned by Chrysler and then by M'tec (Megatech). In 1998, Audi AG became the owner of the company.

The history of the SEAT brand dates back to 1919. Then the Italian company FIAT decides to open its branch in the town of Martorell, a suburb of Barcelona. On November 13, 1953, the first SEAT car rolled off the assembly line at the Martorell factory.

On September 30, 1982, a cooperation agreement was signed between SEAT and the Volkswagen Group, and on June 9, 1986, Volkswagen acquired a 51% stake in the Spanish company. By 1990, the Volkswagen Group became the full owner of SEAT.

The first cars under the Skoda brand were produced in 1919. On April 16, 1991, an agreement was signed on the sale of a 31% stake in the ownership of Škoda, a.a.s. VAG for 620 million marks.

In December 1995, VAG increased its share to 70% by paying 1.4 billion marks. In January 1998, the company changed its name to Škoda Auto, a.s. VAG received final control in May 2000, when the remaining 30% share was bought out for 12.3 billion kroons.

A more detailed history of the Skoda brand can be read on ours.

Ettore Bugatti founded his firm in 1909. Sports cars Type 16 and Type 18 were made in 1914. At the European Grand Prix in 1924, the Bugatti Type 35 took all the first four places. Today, Bugatti is focused on the production of expensive sports cars.

The Bugatti brand was acquired by Volkswagen AG in 1998. The first car it presented was the fiberglass EB118 coupe, created by ItalDesign stylist Fabrizio Giugiaro.

In 2005, the Volkswagen concern begins mass production of a new unique model, officially called the bugatti veyron 16.4.

8. Bentley is an English company specializing in the production of exclusive expensive cars that are not available to everyone.

The history of the English automaker Bentley began on January 18, 1919, when Walter Owen Bentley, together with F. Barges and G. Varley, developed their first car with a 3-liter engine unprecedented for those times.

Bentley has been making luxury cars since 1930.

In 1952 Bentley introduced the Continental. It was a sports two-door car that gained fame as the fastest production sedan.

Bentley still produces various variants of the Continental, which are distinguished by excellent quality interior trim (Conolli leather, rare wood panels or polished aluminum) and thoughtful chassis design.

The most powerful Continental T with a short wheelbase and a 6.8-liter Vickers turbo engine develops 426 hp. and is rightfully considered one of the fastest coupes in the world.

Since 1998, Bentley has been part of the Volkswagen Group.

9. MAN SE is a German engineering company specializing in the production of trucks, buses and engines. Founded in 1758, it was previously called Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG (Machine Factory Augsburg-Nürnberg, AO). The headquarters is located in Munich.

From January 1943 to April 1945 inclusive, MAN produced Pz Kpfw V "Panther" tanks by order of the Reich.

In 1951, the company developed the first German diesel engine for trucks with an exhaust gas turbocharger.

In 1962, MAN took over Porsche Diesel Motorenbau (the diesel tractor division of Porsche KG in the 1950s and early 1960s).

In 1979, MAN began cooperating with Volkswagen on medium-sized trucks, which received the MAN-VW brand.

To date, the main shareholder of MAN is the Volkswagen Group (75.03%), the rest of the shares are in free float. In March 2013, VW made a preliminary offer to buy the remaining shares in MAN. The issue of buying the company will be considered by the board of directors of MAN SE at the annual meeting on June 6.

10.Scania AB is a Swedish manufacturer of trucks, buses and industrial and marine engines that has been producing buses since 1920. The headquarters is located in Södertälje, Sweden.

In 1969, Scania merged with the Swedish company Saab. But their cooperation did not last long, and since 1995 Scania has again become an independent company.

Major shareholders: Volkswagen AG (70.94%), MAN (17.37%).

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (full name Doktor Ingenieur honoris causa Ferdinand Porsche Aktiengesellschaft - Joint Stock Company of the Honorary Doctor of Engineering Ferdinand Porsche) is a German engineering company founded by the famous designer Ferdinand Porsche in 1931. The headquarters and manufactory is located in Stuttgart, Germany.

In 1939, the company's first car, the Porsche 64, was developed, which became the progenitor of all future Porsches, and in 1963, the company's most famous model, the Porsche 911, was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

In December 2009, 49.9% of the company's shares were acquired by Volkswagen AG. In August 2012, VW finally took over Porsche.

12. Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer.

Ducati was founded in 1926 in Bologna. The founders of the company were the brothers Andriano and Marcello Ducati. Both of them were interested in radio engineering, so the first direction of the company's work was precisely the production of radio engineering. In the 20s of the XX century, the demand for horns, loudspeakers did its job, and the company developed well.

After the Second World War, the demand for radio equipment fell sharply, and the company came under state control. At that time, it was important for Italy to create cheap vehicles, so Ducati's activities were retrained into the production of motorbikes and velomobiles.

Already in the early 1950s, Ducati conquered half of the Italian motorbike market. By this time, light motorcycles were becoming more and more popular.

Since July 2012, Ducati has been a division of Audi AG.

The Volkswagen Group is also one of the largest shareholders of the Japanese company Suzuki Motor Corporation.

Today we’ll talk about Volkswagen aktiengesellschaft, which literally translates from German as a Volkswagen joint-stock company. Yes, this is how VAG stands for, although in our country everyone is used to thinking that VAG is the Volkswagen Audi Group, but this is more of a popular name.

VAG is also sometimes called Volkswagen Konzern, Volkswagen Group, VW Group.

Let's see what is Volkswagen aktiengesellschaft. This joint-stock company includes 342 companies that are engaged in the production of cars and everything connected with it. There is a small legal confusion within the company, which does not give a clear picture of the owner of the concern. Volkswagen is partly owned by Porsche automobil Holding SE, 50.73% to be exact. In turn, Volkswagen AG owns 49.9% of Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH. That is, today it is such an automotive giant consisting of Volkswagen and Porsche. The company is even negotiating a merger into a single structure of Volkswagen Porsche.

Yet how is it that one company owns so many car brands? The thing is that at the end of the last century, Volkswagen experienced serious financial difficulties. In 1993, Ferdinand Piech was appointed chairman of the board of the concern, who helped the company get out of the deepest crisis.

He managed to optimize the work of the enterprise well and get out of the crisis while buying up weak car brands at that moment.

Which brands are included in the Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?

1. - produces passenger cars

2. - The company was bought from daimler-benz in 1964.

3. - the company was acquired in 1991.

4. is an Italian brand of passenger cars that was bought from the state in 1986.

5. Bentley - premium segment cars, the brand was purchased in 1998.

6.Lamborghini is a supercar company owned by Audi which bought it in 1998.

7.Porsche - we have already talked about the mess with the shares, but still it is believed that Porsches are part of Volkswagen.

8.Ducati Motor - a brand little known in the CIS, but very popular abroad, is engaged in the production of premium motorcycles, also acquired by Audi in 2012.

Scania AB - 70% of the shares were acquired in 2009, the company produces truck tractors and trucks, which by the way are in great demand in the Russian Federation

Man - 56% of the shares was acquired in 2011. The company is also engaged in the production of truck tractors, trucks, dump trucks and buses.

There is another company called Volkswagen comercial Vehicles that produces commercial vehicles. These are cars like the Volkswagen Crafter.

Some facts about VAG

2005 the concern produced 5.22 million vehicles

In 2006, the concern sold 5.72 million cars, net profit for this period amounted to 2.75 billion euros (Hello AvtoVAZ)

Volkswagen AG, also known as the VAG Group or the Volkswagen Group, is the largest multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The history of the concern begins with the appearance of the "people's car" Volks-wagen in 1937 on behalf of Adolf Hitler.

Volkswagen Beetle, heir to the "people's car" for the Third Reich, 2013

In fact, Volkswagen AG owes its appearance to the Third Reich, Daimler AG and the German design engineer Ferdinand Porsche. The task of producing an inexpensive and reliable car for the people was set by Hitler, the meeting was attended by a representative of Daimler AG, who recommended Porsche as a responsible person. However, Volkswagen is not commonly associated with the German companies of that period.

VAG Group brands and activities: strategy until 2025

At the moment, the concern includes several automotive companies:

• Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Škoda are engaged in mass production of cars;
• Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, Rolls-Royce produce premium and luxury cars;
• MAN, SCANIA, DUCATI, Nutzfahrzeuge are automotive companies producing trucks and buses.

Not so long ago, Volkswagen AG published a development strategy until 2025 "TOGETHER - Strategy 2025", which outlines new development prospects. The concern plans to maintain its format of development in a wide consumer segment, strengthening the financial and consulting direction, delivery and service. As expected, exclusive brands of Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, which have advanced developments of car key mechanisms, will deal with conceptual cars.

The next decade will be dedicated to the financial strengthening of the company, the growth and optimization of its assets. At the same time, we note that the VAG Group is categorically moving in its classical direction of development, working in the mass segment and offering a "car for the people." At the same time, attention is paid to the cargo and exclusive direction.

The company has acquired some of the most famous automotive brands. Among them are Bugatti, Lamborghini, Bentley. VAG Group has a long business relationship with Porsche. The concern currently owns 50.73% of the shares. To this day, the companies are jointly developing automotive platforms. The option of a complete merger into VW-Porsche is being discussed.

Plants VAG Group

The company is the largest automaker in Europe, accounting for 25% of the European market. Prior to the global crisis in 2009, it occupied a leading position in the market. VAG Group currently owns 48 factories in 15 European countries, as well as open production in Asia, America, Africa. The company is trying to manufacture products in the countries of presence in order to reduce the cost of delivering raw materials and finished products to points of sale.

Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg

At the moment, the opening of two types of production is practiced: complete assembly (CKD technology) and large-assembly assembly (SKD technology). In the second case, the plant in the country of presence assembles from ready-made units, the delivery of which is cheaper than the transportation of a finished car. Large-nodal assembly does not require highly skilled personnel, which allows the production of cars with a guaranteed level of quality in other countries. Volkswagen service centers operate in 150 countries around the world.

In total, the company produces over 26 thousand cars per day. The main production facilities are concentrated in Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Portugal, China. In addition to the traditional technological processes CKD and SKD, the concern is looking for new ways of production base.

Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden

One of the most interesting projects of the VAG Group is the Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden. This is a customized, personalized demonstration production. The assembly of machines is carried out specifically “for the client”. Produced Phaeton cars were unprofitable (given the non-standard nature of production), but this is one of the most successful Volkswagen promotion projects.

Customers can now see what personalized vehicle assembly will look like in the future. At the Dresden plant, all internal logistics are controlled by computers. There are areas with moving parquet, the system ensures the "delivery" of the assembly site to the desired production site at a strictly defined time.

The Dresden plant actually combines the showroom and assembly facilities, which are still available for viewing by visitors. VAG AG has positioned the Phaeton as a business-class car and corresponding to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series and Audi A8 categories.

Many experts do not share the company's opinion about the success of the project. As a result, Phaeton was never able to reach the premium class in 8 years, but the idea of ​​a new type of computer-integrated manufacturing was very progressive.

The peculiarity was that all Phaeton cars were individual. The plant has a configurator room where future owners can pick up machine parts. The choice extends to the color of the car, wheels, trim, engine choice. The most advanced was a 6-liter engine with 12 cylinders, the same unit is installed on the Bentley.

The powerful Horch, produced in the 1930s, became the prototype of the Phaeton. As you know, this brand was part of the production of the Auto Union concern, which was inherited by Audi. Now electric cars are produced at the glass manufactory in Dresden.

Industrial design and concept cars

VAG has a fairly powerful portfolio of brands that promote their own design bureaus. This is true for Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, Audi. However, the concern has its own Italian design bureau ItalDesign Giugiaro. The company is engaged in the restyling of old and the development of new cars.

Cooperation with ItalDesign Giugiaro began in the 1970s. In this bureau in 1972, Ferdinand Piech studied technique and design. As a result, ItalDesign has developed several VAG automotive platforms:

• Golf (1974);
• Sciricco (1974);
• Passat (1973);
• Audi 80 (1974).

In 2010 ItalDesign was sold to Audi AG Lamborghini Holding SpA (90.1%), for another 5 years the Giugiaro family played an active role in the work of the company, but in 2015 the sale of the remaining share of Audi AG was announced.

The latest work of ItalDesign was the creation of the flying car Pop Up Next, which was presented at the Geneva Motor Show 2018. It combines the functions of a conventional car, designed for passive driving, and a flying module.

History of Volkswagen AG

It is worth noting that Volkswagen AG does not trace its history from the imperial factories of the Third Reich, but from a company created by Ferdinand Porsche in 1937 to fulfill Hitler's order. The first Volkswagen plant was opened in the district where the modern headquarters of the concern is located, in the city of Wolfsburg. The renaming of the company to its present name was made on September 16, 1937.

Volkswagen actually traces its history back to Ferdinand Porsche, who developed the first car.volkswagenBeetle.

In the post-war period, Lower Saxony, on whose territory Wolfsburg is located, remained under British control. In 1960, the company was founded anew under the name Volkswagen Plants, in 1985 the concern was given the name Volkswagen AG.

Today, the concern unites 342 enterprises, Porsche SE owns 50.73% of the shares of VAG, while Volkswagen AG owns 49.9% of the shares of the intermediate substructure Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH.

From the very beginning of its development, the concern has been providing financial and logistics services. After the reunification of Germany in the 1990s, the concern faced serious financial problems. During this period, the company was headed by Ferdinand Piech, who turned out to be an excellent crisis manager. Piech took part in the development of the concern until 2015.

Major shareholdingsPorscheThe SE is owned by members of the Porsche and Piech family.

It was Piech who managed to achieve major successes and make Volkswagen the leading automotive company in Europe. In addition to producing its own cars, the acquired division of Volkswagen Bentley was involved in the assembly of Rolls-Royce under contract agreements with BMW. In general, the company is characterized by a competent approach to optimizing automotive assets, which contributed to the formation of a modern production infrastructure with customer-oriented services.

Volkswagen Consulting

A separate financial division within the Volkswagen Group was launched in 1991. In 1994, the division, which will play a decisive role in the period up to 2025, gained independence. Now it is a full-fledged banking structure with access to international financial markets. Her tasks include finding and attracting funding for projects on favorable terms. The company has about 3,500 employees in Germany and more than 5,000 in offices around the world. Assets reach 60 billion euros.

A number of banking substructures have been opened on the basis of the corporation, including Audi Bank, Volkswagen Bank, Seat Bank, Škoda Bank.

The functions of the financial direction include:

• financing of corporate projects;
• insurance;
• provision of leasing and credit services;
• managing the transport infrastructure of Volkswagen AG (fleet) for the delivery of products around the world.

Volkswagen AG car brands

At the moment, Volkswagen AG includes 12 automotive brands. The main trading strategy is built around the work of manufacturing plants of Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, Seat, Porsche brands. Some companies operate completely independent production activities, including Audi.

Each of the VAG brands has unique features and is designed for a specific market segment. So the concern produces cars for all categories of consumers, including the production of small-scale exclusive cars based on Italdesign. The company already has a bad experience promoting a premium car. In the meantime, the experience gained as a result of the Phaeton experiment is very valuable in terms of launching and developing an automotive production focused on the personal requirements of the user.

Bentley Continental, exclusive coupe

• Volkswagen is a brand of automobiles, not separated into a separate direction, but directly subordinate to the VAG Group.
• Audi, which inherited Auto Union manufacturing facilities, acquired in 1964;
• NSU Motorenwerke is a motorcycle brand acquired in 1969, which later became part of the Audi Division.
• Seat is an Italian car brand, partly acquired in 1986, fully acquired in 1990.
• Škoda is a Czech marque acquired by Volkswagen in 1991.
• Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge - separated from Volkswagen AG as a separate division engaged in the production of trucks of various tonnages.
• Bentley is an English luxury car company acquired in 1998 from Vickers, Rolls-Royce is produced in conjunction with BMW.
• Bugatti is an exclusive car brand acquired by VAG in 1998.
• Lamborghini is an exclusive brand of Italian cars, acquired by Audi in 1998.
• Scania AB - VAG owns 70.94% of the shares, the company produces heavy goods vehicles.
• MAN AG - VAG owns 55.9% of the shares, acquired in 2011, is engaged in the production of heavy trucks and the production of hybrid vehicles;
• Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. engaged in the production of exclusive motorcycles, is part of Audi AG. The deal is valued at $1.1 billion;
• Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG made a share swap.

Despite the fact that the company announced the search for brands that would be part of the concern, this initiative had no development. According to the published strategy until 2025, VAG will focus on optimizing existing financial assets. At the moment, Volkswagen AG is a completely self-sufficient company capable of successfully developing almost any automotive direction.

Who owns car brands

The automotive industry has always suffered from the fact that the relationship between manufacturers was very difficult to understand. After the global financial crisis thoroughly crippled it in almost all countries, European and American auto giants began to frantically resell their brands. In this confusion, it became unclear who is now responsible for the famous brands. Let's trace the complex history of relationships between the largest automotive brands.

German Porsche is owned by the Porsche and Piech families, the heirs of company founder Ferdinand Porsche and his sister Louise Piech. The family clan owns shares of the company, giving the right to make key decisions, and a small part of the preferred shares listed on the German stock exchanges. By the way, the cunning family has a very significant impact on the German car market. So, for example, Ferdinand Piech (grandson of Ferdinand Porsche), from 1993 to 2002 headed Volkswagen.

In 2009, the first major foreign shareholder appeared in the family concern. It was the Qatari emirate, which bought out 10% of the holding's shares. By the way, Volkswagen itself is actually owned by Porsche, and vice versa - since 2009, Volkswagen has owned a 49.9% stake in Porsche AG. Initially, Volkswagen was a state-owned automaker. It was reorganized into a joint-stock company only in 1960, and the federal government of Germany and the government of Lower Saxony each received 20% of the shares in its capital.

In addition to its own production, the divisions of the Volkswagen Group are currently: Audi (acquired from Daimler-Benz in 1964), Seat (since 1990, the Volkswagen Group owns 99.99% of the shares), Škoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini (the company was acquired by subsidiary of Audi in 1998)

The Japanese Toyota Motor Corp., whose president is the grandson of the founder of the company Akio Toyoda, is 6.29% owned by The Master Trust Bank of Japan, 6.29% by Japan Trustee Services Bank, 5.81% by Toyota Industries Corporation, 9% are treasury shares.

Of all the Japanese automakers, only Toyota boasts a good "collection" of brands - Lexus, Scion, Daihatsu and Subaru. In addition, the truck manufacturer Hino is part of Toyota Motor.

Honda's achievement is much more modest. In addition to the premium brand Acura and the motorcycle department, the Japanese have nothing else to brag about.

The Peugeot-Citroen auto concern is still 30.3% (45.1% of voting shares) owned by the Peugeot family. The shares are also owned by employees of the concern (2.76%), there are also treasury shares (3.07%). The remaining shares are in free float.

By the way, Peugeot SA acquired a 38.2% stake in Citroën back in 1974, and two years later brought this share to 89.95%. So today, Peugeot almost completely controls the formerly independent Citroen.

Another world's largest automaker is the Renault-Nissan alliance, which owns such brands as Renault, Dacia, Nissan, Infiniti, Samsung. In addition, since December 2012, Renault-Nissan owns 50% + 1 share of AvtoVAZ, so from now on the Lada brand actually belongs to the French-Japanese alliance.

Concern "Reno" over the past 60 years is gradually getting out of state control. Until 1945, Renault was 100% privately owned. However, during the war, the company's factories were destroyed, and Louis Renault himself was accused of collaborating with the Nazis and convicted. A major businessman died in prison, and his company was successfully nationalized. However, over the years, the state share began to decline. And if in 1996 Renault was state-owned by more than half, then in 2005 it already owned only 15.7% of the shares. In 1999, Renault and Nissan entered into perhaps the most enduring automotive alliance. Nissan is 44.4% owned by the French manufacturer, and Renault, in turn, gave 15% of the shares to the Japanese.

The fifth largest automobile concern, DaimlerChrysler, was very fond of the Arabs. The owner of the top brands Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG and Smart, has the Arab investment fund Aabar Investments (9.1%) as the main shareholder, the government of Kuwait owns 7.2% of the shares, and about 2% belongs to the emirate of Dubai. Next to such brands, it is surprising to see our KAMAZ, a 10% stake in which Daimler acquired in 2008. The German automaker paid $250 million immediately for KAMAZ shares and left $50 million until 2012. As a result of the deal, Daimler received one seat on the board of directors of KAMAZ. In February of this year, the concern bought another 1% stake in the truck manufacturer.

The Bavarian concern BMW, which in 1959 actually single-handedly saved Herbert Quandt from the sale, still depends on his family. At the end of the 1950s, the rival company Daimler-Benz became interested in the unprofitable German brand, but Quandt did not sell it, and invested himself. Today, his widow Joanna Quandt and children Stefan and Susanna control 46.6% of BMW shares and live quite well. Stefan Quandt even served as vice chairman of the company's board for some time. Despite the fact that Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Honda and Fiat offered very lucrative deals at various times, Quandt's heirs refuse to sell, as they consider keeping the brand a matter of honor for the family.

In recent years, the Hyundai-Kia alliance has rapidly become one of the leaders in the global automotive industry. Currently, the alliance produces cars under the brands Hyundai and Kia, but in the near future, the Koreans plan to create a premium brand. According to unconfirmed information, it will be called Genesis.

Hyundai Motor "raised from its knees" a single person - Chung Mong Koo, the eldest son of the founder of the Hyundai industrial group. In the late 90s, he seriously took up the quality of cars. For some 6 years, the Korean was able to increase sales in the US market by 360% and take fourth place among imported brands.

Ford Motor is run by William Ford Jr., great-grandson of the famous Henry Ford. Henry Ford himself always dreamed of being the sole owner of the company. In 1919, Henry and his son Edsel bought out the company's shares from other shareholders and became the sole owners of their offspring. There is no doubt that the shares were sold to them without any problems, because the first shareholders were: a coal merchant, his accountant, a banker who trusted the coal merchant, two brothers who had an engine workshop, a carpenter, two lawyers, one clerk , owner of a haberdashery and a man who produced wind turbines and air rifles.

Until recently, Ford boasted two more British brands - Jaguar (Ford bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion in 1989) and Land Rover (in 2000 it was bought by Ford for $2.75 billion). dollars from BMW). In 2008, both brands were put up for sale due to huge debts. In June 2008 they were bought by the Indian Tata Motors.

Today, in addition to cars with its own name, Ford Motor owns the Lincoln and Mercury brands. Ford also owns a 33.4% stake in Mazda and a 9.4% stake in Kia Motors Corporation.

General Motors, which has long occupied a leading position in the automotive market, today is controlled by the state (61% of the shares). Its main shareholders are: the Government of Canada (12%), the United Auto Workers Union of the USA (17.5%). The remaining 10.5% of the shares were divided among the largest creditors.

The famous automaker still owns the Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac and Opel brands. More recently, he also owned a controlling stake in the Swedish company Saab (50%), but after the crisis, in January 2010, he sold the company to the Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker Cars.

In the summer of 2008, General Motors decided to sell the Hummer brand, and for almost a year tried to sell it to the Chinese, then Russians, then Indians. As a result, the only promising deal with the Chinese Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co fell through, and on May 26, 2010, the last SUV of the brand rolled off the assembly line of the General Motors plant in the US city of Shreveport.

Since January 1, 2011, the Fiat Group has been divided into two subsidiaries in two sectors: Fiat SpA (passenger vehicles) and Fiat Industrial (industrial vehicles).
From mergers and acquisitions of recent years, I would like to note the transition of the Volvo brand under the control of the Chinese Geely and the purchase of the Indian premium brands Jaguar and Land Rover by the Indian Tata Motor. Most curious in this series is the acquisition by the tiny Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker of the Swedish brand SAAB.

From the once powerful British car industry now there are only memories. The most famous British automakers have long lost their independence, but even small English firms have passed to foreign owners. The legendary Lotus company is owned by the Malaysian Proton, and MG was bought by the Chinese company SAIC. At the same time, SAIC sold the Korean SsangYong Motor to the Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra. based on hhttp://www.km.ru