Volkswagen Volkswagen Case Study
707 Words
3 Pages
On 28 May 1937, Volkswagen (VW) was founded by the National Socialist Party of Germany. The meaning of Volkswagen is German for “people’s car.” Volkswagen’s goal was to mass produce an inexpensive vehicle for the people. This car would be known as the Volkswagen Beetle. The Beetle also known as the Bug in the United States, is the longest running and best-selling single design in history with over 21,000,000 vehicles sold from 1938 to 2003. The Beetle was manufactured in Wolfsburg, Germany, the headquarters location of VW.
After World War II, VW was controlled by the Allies. The British military used Beetles for their mail operations. The company was handed back over to the German state in 1948. Production of the Beetle grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s. New models introduced had basic-air cooled, rear-engine, with a rear drive platform. Beetle sales declined in the early 1970’s. VW changed their strategy by expanding their product line producing car with front-wheel drive and water-cooled engines. These models included the Golf, Passat, Polo, and Scirocco. The cars help VW make a turnaround. In the 1980s, United States sales decreased drastically due to the competition from other automakers from Japan and the United States. It was not until Martin Winterhorn became the CEO that VW began to embark on becoming the world’s largest …show more content…
Admission of the fraud immediately resulted in the company’s chief executive’s, Martin Winterkorn, resignation which affected the company’s share price and profits. The scandal beginnings went beyond the confirmed wrongdoing on the part of some engineers. It is believed that the emissions cheating was due to the personal and professional rivalries of Wolfgang Bernhard and Martin Winterkorn during the initial development of the VW’s diesel
After World War II, VW was controlled by the Allies. The British military used Beetles for their mail operations. The company was handed back over to the German state in 1948. Production of the Beetle grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s. New models introduced had basic-air cooled, rear-engine, with a rear drive platform. Beetle sales declined in the early 1970’s. VW changed their strategy by expanding their product line producing car with front-wheel drive and water-cooled engines. These models included the Golf, Passat, Polo, and Scirocco. The cars help VW make a turnaround. In the 1980s, United States sales decreased drastically due to the competition from other automakers from Japan and the United States. It was not until Martin Winterhorn became the CEO that VW began to embark on becoming the world’s largest …show more content…
Admission of the fraud immediately resulted in the company’s chief executive’s, Martin Winterkorn, resignation which affected the company’s share price and profits. The scandal beginnings went beyond the confirmed wrongdoing on the part of some engineers. It is believed that the emissions cheating was due to the personal and professional rivalries of Wolfgang Bernhard and Martin Winterkorn during the initial development of the VW’s diesel