Volkswagen's journey from wartime roots to reinvention
Volkswagen's history spans its founding in Nazi Germany, its rise from Beetle maker to global automaker and a shift toward electric vehicles. The company agreed to cut 35,000 jobs in Germany by decade's end in 2024; by 2026, plans to double group layoffs to 100,000 and close up to four plants were accepted by its supervisory board.
1. Founding and early growth
The German Labour Front founded the organization that became Volkswagen in 1937, and the precursor to the Beetle was unveiled in 1939. Wartime production shifted to armaments and utility vehicles. After the war, British Army engineer Ivan Hirst persuaded occupation authorities to restart Beetle production; the one-millionth Beetle rolled off the Wolfsburg line in 1955. Volkswagen was privatized in 1960, with Lower Saxony retaining a 20% stake.
2. Building a global group
Volkswagen acquired Auto Union and its Audi brand in 1965, began Golf production in 1974 and started building cars in China in 1983. Later expansion added Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti. In 2008, Volkswagen acquired Porsche after the sports-car maker's attempted takeover of Volkswagen backfired. The company’s 2015 emissions-test scandal led to more than €32 billion in fines, refits and legal costs, followed by a pivot to electric vehicles.
3. Pressure and restructuring
Volkswagen's China sales began to fall after Porsche's 2022 initial public offering, and BYD overtook Volkswagen as China's top-selling automaker in 2023. In late 2024, CEO Oliver Blume agreed with unions to cut 35,000 jobs in Germany by the end of the decade, while avoiding plant closures. Tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in April 2025 added billions of euros in annual costs. By mid-2026, plans emerged to double layoffs across the group to 100,000 and close up to four plants, including the Zwickau EV plant. In September, Volkswagen's supervisory board accepted the plan.
