The Volkswagen Group, also known as Volkswagen Konzern, Volkswagen Group or VW Group, is a group of automotive companies, among which Volkswagen AG is considered the parent company. The headquarters of the Volkswagen Group is located in Wolfsburg. With the owners of the VW Group, not everything was unequivocally clear until 2012. Until then, Porsche SE had owned 50.73% of the shares of Volkswagen AG, although the latter owned 100% of the shares of Porsche GmbH. Porsche is now wholly owned by the VW Group.
Martin Winterkorn is the head of Volkswgaen AG and also the Chairman of the Management Board of Porsche SE.
The Volkswagen Group includes 342 companies, but not all of them are engaged in auto production: many of them simply provide services related to the production of cars. The VW Group has repeatedly become the world's largest automaker, where it traditionally battles with General Motors, Toyota and Renault-Nissan.
In 1998 - 2002, being the owner of Bentley, Volkswagen group part-time produced prestigious Rolls-Royce cars, although for this the company had to conclude an agreement with BMW. However, since 2003, when BMW bought the rights to Rolls-Royce from Vickers, the production of Rolls-Royce brand cars has remained the privilege of the Bavarian brand BMW.
In December 2009, the Volkswagen Group entered into an agreement to develop sustainable vehicles with Japanese company Suzuki. At the same time, the German concern got a 20% stake in Suzuki. The alliance did not last long: in the fall of 2011, it broke up.
VW Group corporate structure
Specializes in the production of passenger cars and is directly subordinated to Volkswagen manuals AG.
The last of the former members of the Auto Union group, bought out from the Daimler concern in 1964.
NSU Motorenwerke. Belongs to the VW Group since 1969 and is listed as part of the Audi Division. As an independent brand, it has not been used since 1977.
Since 1986, the German concern has owned 53% of the shares (controlling stake). This year, VW Group signed a contract to buy SEAT from the state. In 1990, the VW Group became virtually the sole owner of SEAT: it owns 99.99% of the shares of the Spanish automaker.
VW Group has had exclusive rights to this Czech automaker since 1991.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Issues commercial vehicles: minibuses, buses and tractors. Until 1995, this division was part of Volkswagen AG, but thanks to Bernd Weidemann, it became an independent division within the VW Group.
The company became the property of the VW Group in 1998, when it was sold by the British concern Vichers. The German concern also received Rolls-Royce as a "load", but without the right to sole production of cars under this brand, since the British sold the brand itself to another German automaker - BMW.
Crashed after a failed supercar EB110 French stamp barely kept afloat until it was bought by the VW Group in 1998.
The deal for the purchase of this Italian brand was concluded with Audi in 1998.
The German concern bought a 70.94% stake in the Swedish truck manufacturer in 2009. With a majority stake in Scania, VW Group has full control over the production of truck tractors, trucks and dump trucks, buses and diesel engines under this brand.
The deal to purchase a controlling stake in MAN took place in 2011 (VW Group owns 55.9% of MAN shares). Under this brand, truck tractors, trucks and dump trucks, buses, diesel and hybrid engines are produced.
Porsche AG has been owned by the VW Group since 2009 with a 49.9% stake. In 2011, the merger between Porsche and Volkswagen failed, but in 2012, Volkswagen bought Porsche, making it the 12th brand in this group of companies. Since then, the VW Group has owned a 50.1% stake in Porsche, for which the company laid out 4.49 billion euros.
The Italian superbike manufacturer has been owned by Audi AG since spring 2012. The deal to buy Ducati from Investindustrial SpA cost the German VW Group $1.1 billion.
Since 2009, VW Group has been one of the largest shareholders in Suzuki Motor Corporation.
As of 2013, the VW Group owns the Russian trademark Moskvich. The right to use this brand and all its emblems belongs to Volkswagen until 2021.
The VW Group owns 48 automobile manufacturing enterprises: there are VW Group plants in 15 European countries, in six American, Asian and African countries. The enterprises of the group employ more than 370,000 people. The daily production volume exceeds 26,600 vehicles. Authorized sales and service points for VW Group vehicles are located in more than 150 countries around the world.
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. It is assumed that exclusive brands 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. Until today, the companies are jointly developing car 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 qualified 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 traditional technological processes CKD and SKD, the concern is looking for new ways of manufacturing 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 positioned the Phaeton as a business class car and corresponding category Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series and Audi A8.
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 company, but in 2015 the sale of the remaining share of Audi AG was announced.
Last work 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 is different unique features and targeted at 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. Meanwhile, 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 - trading car brand, is not allocated in a separate direction, but is 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 jointly 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.
In this article, we have systematized the information so that you can easily find out what isVAG (VAG) and what is included in its structure, as well as what brands of cars are included in the concern VAG. We made brief conclusions on the formation and functioning VAG on December 1, 2019.
AT automotive world It is customary to use various abbreviations that not every person can decipher the first time. Indeed, most of these abbreviations refer to automotive companies and concerns.
One of the most common and well-known abbreviations for several years remains VAG. The opinions of the townsfolk on the issue of its decoding were divided. Many believe that this is simply an abbreviated VOLKSWAGEN variant, the other part claims that VAG includes all german cars including Mercedes and BMW.
Let's try to figure out how things really are.
How is VAG (VAG) deciphered?
Previously, the abbreviation VAG stood for Volkswagen Audi Group but currently it is Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (Volkswagen AG). The second word in the name means "joint-stock company".
At the moment, there is one official German company name - Volkswagen Konzern, which translates as "Volkswagen Concern", and in English sources - this is the Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen group of companies). The group headquarters is located in Wolfsburg, Germany.
What car brands are included in the VAG concern?
Today, the VAG concern includes 12 separate car brands: Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen, MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Ducati.
At the end of summer 2009 Porsche SE and Volkswagen Group reached an agreement whereby Volkswagen and Porsche AG decided to merge by 2011.
By this time, about 50% of VAG shares belonged to the PORSCHE holding. In turn, VAG owns 100% of the intermediate holding Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH, which has the right to manufacture PORSCHE AG cars.
The Volkswagen Group includes the following car brands:
- Audi- the last car brand of the Auto Union group, acquired from Daimler-Benz in 1964.
- NSU Motorenwerke- was purchased 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 is practically the property of the Volkswagen Group, which owns 99.99% of the company's shares.
- Skoda- bought in 1991
- Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge) - was part of Volkswagen AG, but in 1995, thanks to Bernd Weidemann, the previous chairman of the board of the group, it became an independent division within the Volkswagen Group. The division is engaged in the production of minibuses, buses and tractors.
- Bentley- (1998) was bought from the British concern Vickers together with Rolls-Royce, but cannot independently produce cars under this brand, since the brand itself was sold to BMW.
- Bugatti- (1998)
- Lamborghini - (1998)
- Porsche
The concern includes 342 companies engaged in the production of cars, motorcycles, special equipment, engines, etc.
The Volkswagen Group owns 48 automotive companies in 15 European countries and six countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. The group employs more than 370,000 people, produces more than 26,600 vehicles daily, and has authorized vehicle sales and service in more than 150 countries.
Thus, the concernVAG was created with the goal of taking over smaller car brands by the big car giants. In our opinion, this was done for the following reasons:
- Create imaginary competition among automobile manufacturers;
- Dictate your price terms automotive market Europe.
About thirty years ago, the famous American manager Lee Iacocca said that by the beginning of the 21st century, only a few players would remain in the global automotive market. The ex-president of Chrysler and Ford saw through the trends in the further development of the automotive industry, so it is not at all surprising that his predictions are confirmed.
The world's largest automakers and alliances
At first glance, it may seem that there are many independent automakers in the world, but in fact, most auto companies are part of various groups and alliances.
Thus, Lee Iacocca looked into the water, and today there are actually only a few automakers left in the world who have divided the entire global car market among themselves.
What brands are owned by Ford
Interestingly, the companies he headed - Chrysler and Ford - the leaders of the American auto industry, suffered the most serious losses during the economic crisis. And they had never been in such serious troubles before. Chrysler and General Motors went bankrupt, and only a miracle saved Ford. But for this miracle, the company had to pay too dear a price, because as a result, Ford lost its premium division Premiere Automotive Group, which included Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar. Moreover, Ford lost Aston Martin, the British supercar manufacturer, a controlling stake in Mazda, and liquidated the Mercury brand. And today, only two brands remain from the huge empire - Lincoln and Ford itself.
What brands belong to the auto concern General Motors
General Motors suffered no less serious losses. American company lost Saturn, Hummer, SAAB, but its bankruptcy did not prevent it from defending the Opel and Daewoo brands. Today, General Motors includes such brands as Vauxhall, Holden, GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick. In addition, the Americans own the Russian joint venture GM-AvtoVAZ, which produces the Chevrolet Niva.
Automaker Fiat and Chrysler
And the American concern Chrysler now acts as a strategic partner of Fiat, which has brought together such brands as Ram, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Lancia, Maserati, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo under its wing.
In Europe, things are somewhat different than in the US. Here the crisis has also made its own adjustments, but the position of the monsters of the European automobile industry has not been shaken by this.
What brands belong to the Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen is still accumulating brands. After buying Porsche in 2009, the Volkswagen Group has nine brands - Seat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley, Porsche, Audi, truck manufacturer Scania and VW itself. There is evidence that soon this list will include Suzuki, 20 percent of whose shares are already owned by the Volkswagen Group.
Brands owned by Daimler AG and BMW Group
As for the other two "Germans" - BMW and Daimler AG, they cannot boast of such an abundance of brands. Under the wing of Daimler AG are the brands Smart, Maybach and Mercedes, and the history of BMW includes Mini and Rolls-Royce.
Renault and Nissan Automobile Alliance
Among the world's largest automakers, one cannot fail to mention the Renault-Nissan alliance, which owns such brands as Samsung, Infiniti, Nissan, Dacia and Renault. In addition, Renault owns 25 percent of AvtoVAZ shares, so Lada is also not an independent brand from the French-Japanese alliance.
Another major French automaker, PSA, owns Peugeot and Citroen.
Japanese automaker Toyota
And among Japanese automakers, only Toyota, which owns Subaru, Daihatsu, Scion and Lexus, can boast of a “collection” of brands. Also part of Toyota Motor is the truck manufacturer Hino.
Who owns Honda
Honda's achievements are more modest. In addition to the motorcycle department and the premium Acura brand, the Japanese have nothing else.
Successful Auto Alliance Hyundai-Kia
In recent years, the Hyundai-Kia alliance has been successfully breaking into the list of leaders in the global automotive industry. Today, it produces cars only under the brands Kia and Hyundai, but the Koreans are already seriously engaged in creating a premium brand that could be called Genesis.
Acquisitions and mergers in recent years include the takeover of the Chinese brand Volvo by Geely, as well as the acquisition of the British premium brands Land Rover and Jaguar by the Indian company Tata. And even the most curious case is the purchase of the famous Swedish brand SAAB by the tiny Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker.
The once powerful British auto industry is dead. All the famous British car manufacturers have long since lost their independence. Their example was followed by small English firms that passed to foreign owners. In particular, the legendary Lotus today belongs to Proton (Malaysia), and the Chinese SAIC bought MG. By the way, the same SAIC had previously sold the Korean SsangYong Motor to the Indian Mahindra&Mahindra.
All of these strategic partnerships, alliances, mergers and acquisitions have once again proven Lee Iacocca right. Single firms in the modern world are no longer able to survive. Yes, there are exceptions, like the Japanese Mitsuoka, the English Morgan or the Malaysian Proton. But these companies are independent only in the sense that absolutely nothing depends on them.
And in order to have annual sales amounting to hundreds of thousands of cars, not to mention millions, one cannot do without a strong “rear”. In the Renault-Nissan alliance, partners provide support to each other, while in the Volkswagen Group, mutual assistance is ensured by the number of brands.
As for such companies as Mitsubishi and Mazda, in the future they will face more and more difficulties. While Mitsubishi can get the help of partners from PSA, Mazda will have to survive alone, which in the modern world is becoming more and more difficult every day ...
Concern "Volkswagen" is by far the largest in the world. The VW Group owns many popular car companies and produces amazing cars that are in demand in all developed countries. Well, we should tell more about this largest concern.
The Volkswagen concern, or rather its headquarters, is located in Germany, in Wolfsburg. This name is translated as “people's car”. Very symbolic, because these cars are really in great demand.
Interestingly, as of September 2011, the concern's voting shares in the amount of 50.73% belong to a no less famous German holding. Which, as you might guess, is the Porsche SE. However, it should be noted that the concern "Volkswagen" owns all 100% of the ordinary shares of this holding. For a long time, negotiations were underway to combine VW and Porsche into a single structure. It was planned that it would be called that - VW-Porsche. But this did not happen (a little later this will be discussed).
Interestingly, Martin Winterkorn was both one and the second concern. But in September last, 2015, it ceased to be such.
The Volkswagen concern consists of as many as 342 companies that produce cars and provide other services related to cars. It's really impressive.
The beginning of the story
So, before talking about the composition of the Volkswagen concern, it is worth briefly telling about its history. Its creator is Ferdinand Porsche. In 1938, the first VW plant was built. Naturally, it was in Wolfsburg.
In 1960, on August 22, an LLC called Volkswagen Plants appeared. After the FRG was founded, this society became owned and the name was changed. On the traditional, which remains unchanged to this day. After that, Volkswagen AG began to engage not only in the manufacture of cars and motorcycles, but also in the provision of logistics and financial services. Moreover, this concern even had a small food production enterprise.
Further activities
The nineties were difficult years for many countries. Germany was no exception, and the concern - even more so. Volkswagen cars continued to be popular, but the company still experienced certain difficulties. But Ferdinand Piech, hired as a crisis manager, literally saved the firm. Until 2015, he led the financial processes. And it was this man who decided to expand the Volkswagen concern. The composition that we know today could not exist if Piech were not so enterprising and far-sighted.
At the end of the nineties, the company became even more famous, since then the Volkswagen Bentley division appeared, which produced Rolls-Royce cars. True, together with the Munich BMW, which then owned the rights to this brand. Since 2003, Volkswagen has not been doing this anymore - the BMW concern has finally bought out the Rolls-Royce brand.
Agreement with Suzuki
The brands of the Volkswagen concern are diverse, but many were surprised by the fact that in December 2009 the German company decided to create an alliance with the Japanese company Suzuki. But nothing much happened. The concerns simply exchanged shares (the German company got 1/5 of all the shares of the Japanese company). And then they made an announcement for the joint development of special cars that can be safely classified as environmentally friendly. But the alliance did not last long. Not even two years had passed before the press officially announced that the companies had decided to break off business relations. It happened in 2011, in September.
Units established in the 20th century
The Volkswagen concern is the largest in Germany. Its main division is considered to be Volkswagen itself, which produces high-quality cars. This group is not formalized as a subsidiary joint-stock company. This firm reports directly to the management of the concern itself.
One of the most popular brands is also "Audi". Her Wolfsburg concern bought from Daimler-Benz a very long time ago - in 1964, to be more precise. Then, another company entered the Audi Division, bought five years later, in 1969. And it was NSU Motorenwerke. True, it did not exist on its own for so long - only until 1977.
In 1986 a new acquisition was made. The concern bought Seat (53 percent). To date, the Wolfsburg Corporation owns 99.99% of all these shares. That is, in fact, the Spanish company became the property of the German concern. Then, in 1991, VW also bought Skoda.
Divisions that arose in the late 90s
Separately, I would like to say about Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. This is an independent division, whose activities are controlled by the VW Group. However, it became such only after 1995, thanks to the efforts of the previous chairman of the board of the group, who was Bernd Weideman. Prior to this, the current division was part of the VW Group. Today it produces tractors, buses and minibuses.
In 1998, the concern acquired a company that is one that produces truly luxurious and rich cars. And it's a Bentley. The German concern acquired the British company together with Rolls-Royce, which was then sold to BMW (as described above).
Immediately after the Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini were acquired. The Italian company was bought not by the Volkswagen concern itself, but by its subsidiary Audi. 1998 was remembered for really weighty and significant transactions.
Other divisions
Volkswagen cars are known all over the world. The magnate produces really good, high-quality, reliable, comfortable and beautiful cars. But the concern also sells dump trucks, buses, trucks, tractors and diesel engines. They are produced by Scania AB, which VW Group bought in 2009. About 71 percent of the company's shares belong to the Wolfsburg concern.
Another equally well-known manufacturer of truck tractors, as well as other vehicles, is MAN AG. Its controlling stake is also owned by a German company, and has been for five years now.
Now about Porsche. It was mentioned at the beginning, but it is worth returning to this topic. 49.9% of the shares of this company belonged to the VW Group in 2009. Then negotiations were held on the merger of these two powerful companies into a single entity. But this did not happen. VW Group still bought Porsche. Thus, the popular manufacturer became the 12th brand in the group. The purchase cost the Wolfsburg representatives almost 4.5 billion euros. I also had to “attach” one of my shares (ordinary) from above.
The company also owns the most popular manufacturer Motor Holding S.p.A.) and the studio ItalDesign Giugiaro. It was also bought not by the VW Group, but by Lamborghini. The rest of the shares (9.9%) continued to be the property of the relatives of Giorgetto Giugiaro (one of the founders of the atelier).
Case 2015
In September last year, there was a major scandal around the concern "Volkswagen". Then it turned out that about 11 million machines running on diesel units, had software that was activated during testing. This software significantly reduced the amount of harmful gases emitted into the atmosphere. It turned out that the level of emitted nitrogen oxides is actually very high. This scandal around the concern "Volkswagen" flared up very quickly. The company has pleaded not guilty.
This software was installed on models with TDI units (series 288, 189 and 188). Cars were produced for 7 incomplete years - from 2008 to 2015. Such “defective” models turned out to be the well-known “Golfs” of the sixth generation, “Trade Winds” (seventh), as well as “Tiguan”, “Jetta”, Beetle and even “Audi A3”.
The violation was discovered while a research team from the University of West Virginia was studying the composition of exhaust gases that entered the atmosphere while driving.
Fine and punishment
Naturally, a fine was imposed on the Volkswagen concern for this. In total, the amount amounted to about 18 billion dollars. The calculation was made based on the number of cars. And the amount to be paid for one “defective” car is approximately $37,500. Yes, a considerable fine was awarded to the Volkswagen concern.
Another of the consequences can be noted a significant decrease in prices set for the shares of the concern. Many experts said that this case could affect the engineering industry of the whole country. Allegedly, the confidence of potential buyers may fall significantly in relation to cars produced in Germany, and the famous “German quality” will no longer be so reference.
So far, however, these predictions have not come true. Yes, and they are unlikely to come true. After all, German companies produce really good cars in all respects. Volkswagen has failed so far. Some downturns are still observed - sales due to the incident with this scandal fell by 5.2 percent at the end of last winter. This is in Germany. Worldwide sales fell by two percent. However, no one doubts - this is a temporary phenomenon.