German automobile concern "Volkswagen" (Volkswagen): composition, car brands

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

Volkswagen Concern 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.

Interesting facts

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, voting shares of the concern 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).

It is interesting that Martin Winterkorn was the chairman of the board of both one and the second concern. But last September, 2015, it ceased to be such.

Volkswagen Concern consists of as many as 342 companies that produce cars and provide other services related to cars. This is 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 by Lower Saxony. 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, even a small enterprise producing food products was owned by this concern.

Further activities

The 1990s 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, taken onjob as a crisis manager, literally saved the company. Until 2015, he led the financial processes. And it was this man who decided to expand the Volkswagen concern. The roster we know today might not exist if Piech hadn't been so enterprising and forward-thinking.

In the late 1990s, the company became even more famous with the emergence of the Volkswagen Bentley division, 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

Volkswagen's brands 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 (1/5 of all shares of the Japanese company went to the German 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 created in the 20th century

Volkswagen Concern is the largest in Germany. Its main division is considered to be Volkswagen itself, which produces high-quality passenger cars.cars. This group is not formalized as a subsidiary joint-stock company. This company 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 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 out a controlling stake in 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 a Skoda.

Subdivisions that emerged in the late 90s

Separately, I would like to say about Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. This is an independent division, the activities of which 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 produces truly luxurious and rich cars. And it's a Bentley. The German concern acquired the British company together with the Rolls-Royce, which was then sold"BMW" (as described above).

Immediately after 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 significant and significant transactions.

Other units

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. His controlling stake is also owned by a German company, and has been for five years already.

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 motorcycle manufacturer (Ducati Motor Holding S.p. A.) and ItalDesign studioGiugiaro. 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 cars running on diesel units had software that was activated during testing. This software significantly reduced the amount of harmful gases released 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, by the way, admitted its guilt.

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 West Virginia University was studying the composition of exhaust gases that were released into the atmosphere while driving.

Pen alty and punishment

Naturally, the Volkswagen concern was fined 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 forone “defective” car is approximately $37,500. Yes, a considerable fine was awarded to the Volkswagen concern.

Another of the consequences is a significant decrease in prices set for the concern's shares. 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.

However, so far, such 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. There are some downturns, though, with sales down 5.2 percent at the end of last winter due to the scandal. This is in Germany. Worldwide sales fell by two percent. However, no one doubts that this is a temporary phenomenon.