Who owns famous car companies (brands)? Volkswagen Automobile Concern What cars does Volkswagen produce.

The Volkswagen Group, headquartered in Wolfsburg (Germany), is one of the world's leading and largest European automakers. In 2018, 10,834,000 vehicles were handed over to customers worldwide (2017: 10,741,500 vehicles; 2016: 10,297,000 vehicles; 2015: 9,930,600 vehicles; in 2013 - 9,731,000 vehicles).

The group includes twelve brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen - cars, Audi, Seat, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN.

The lineup concern covers a wide range Vehicle from motorcycles and economical small cars to luxury cars. The commercial vehicle segment offers a variety of options from pickups to buses and heavy trucks.

The Volkswagen Group is actively involved in other business areas, such as manufacturing diesel engines large diameter for marine and stationary applications (turnkey power plants), turbochargers, gas and steam turbines, compressors and chemical reactors. The concern also manufactures automotive transmissions, special gearboxes for wind turbines, plain and clutch bearings.

In addition, the Volkswagen Group offers a wide range of financial services, including dealer and customer finance, leasing, banking, insurance and fleet management.

The Volkswagen Group has 123 plants in 20 European countries and 11 countries in North and South America, Asia and Africa. Every weekday, the group's 642,292 employees around the world produce about 44,170 vehicles and work in other business areas. The Volkswagen Group sells its vehicles in 153 countries around the world.

The Group's mission is to produce attractive and safe cars, competitive in the modern market and setting world standards for their class.

Strategy TOGETHER 2025

"Strategy TOGETHER 2025" is a program of the Volkswagen Group, which is the beginning of the largest restructuring in the history of the company. Changes from one of the best car manufacturers to achieve a leading position as a supplier of sustainable mobility. To do this, the Volkswagen Group is transforming automotive production and plans to launch more than 30 next-generation all-electric vehicles by 2025, with a focus on vehicle charging technology and autonomous driving. The development of cross-branding and intelligent mobility solutions will also become one of the company's key activities. The strategic partnership with Gett, established in 2016, was the first step in this direction; in the coming years, services such as robotic taxis and car sharing will merge. Successful transformation of the company also implies the development of innovation. The Volkswagen Group is driving digital excellence across all brands and across all industries. At the same time, the Volkswagen Group continues to develop partnerships and strategic investments, increasing the efficiency of its activities.

In the very early days of the automobile industry, all car manufacturers were, of course, independent of each other. But . As a result, more successful car companies began to buy competing car brands. Subsequently, the world's largest conglomerates began to be created in the automotive industry, which to this day are the largest auto companies in the world in terms of the number of products produced and, naturally, in terms of sales. Let's look at the current state of the global auto business. We invite you to find out which famous and popular ones are currently under the control of large corporations and auto alliances.

Abarth - owned by Fiat/Chrysler

Abarth was founded in 1949. Initially, the auto brand was engaged in the production of racing cars and the production of automotive components for powerful vehicles. In 1971, company founder Carlo Abat sold his brand to the company. Abarth is currently producing more powerful versions based on Fiat vehicles.

Alfa Romeo - Owned by Fiat/Chrysler

At the moment, the Audi brand is the largest part of the world's largest auto concern Volkswagen.

Bentley - Owned by Volkswagen

Ferrari - owned by Fiat

In 1969, Fiat acquired a 50% stake in Ferrari after a planned buyout of the Italian premium brand by Ford failed. Fiat eventually increased its shareholding to 90%. In 2014, Fiat Chrysler decided to separate the brand from the main group. As a result, the deal was completed in 2016, and the Agnelli family, who founded Fiat, became the largest shareholder of Ferrari.

Infiniti - Owned by Nissan

Lamborghini - owned by Volkswagen

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lamborghini was owned by Chrysler. Currently part of the Volkswagen Group. Lamborghini became part of this company in 1998, when the brand came under control.

Land Rover - Owned by TATA

company Land Rover over the long history of the auto industry, many well-known automobile brands have been owned, ranging from and ending with the American company Ford. But in 2008, the Land Rover brand, along with Jaguar, came under the control of the Indian industrial giant Tata. Immediately after the takeover, the two independent brands and Jaguar were merged into one company.

Lexus - Owned by Toyota

Lexus is wholly owned by Toyota. The brand is the luxury division of a Japanese company. Like Acura, Infiniti, which belong to and respectively, Lexus brand was brought to market to enter the US premium car market as well as the UK.

Lotus - Owned by Proton

Malaysian automaker Proton bought the company in 1993 from Italian businessman Romano Artioli (who owned Bugatti in those years). Today, the Lotus brand is still owned by Proton. The strangest thing is that Lotus cars are still produced and sold all over the world (mainly in England), while the production of cars under the Proton brand has been discontinued.

Maserati - Owned by Fiat-Chrysler

Maserati has been a 100% subsidiary of Fiat since 1993. Today it belongs to the Fiat-Chrysler automaker.

Mercedes - Owned by Daimler

Mercedes-Benz is the largest and most well-known automobile brand within the Daimler Corporation. Daimler also owns several commercial vehicle manufacturers.

MG - Owned by Saic

MG is owned by a Chinese company after MG Rover went bankrupt in 2005. Initially, the MG brand was bought by the Chinese company Nanjing Automobile, but then it was bought by the Shanghai company SAIC.

Mini - Owned by BMW

In 2000, BMW sold their MG, Rover and Land Rover brands, which were known to be part of the Rover Group. But in the sale, BMW retained control of Mini. As a result, today BMW, in addition to Rolls-Royce, retains control over the brand.

Mitsubishi - Owned by Nissan-Renault

Mitsubishi Motors is the automotive division of the Mitsubishi Group, which in addition to auto production is engaged in projects in nuclear energy, banking and many other areas of business. In October 2016, Nissan became the company's largest shareholder by purchasing a 34% stake. So Mitsubishi became part of the Renault-Nissan auto alliance.

Nissan - Owned by the Renault-Nissan Auto Alliance

After several years of financial difficulties, Nissan entered into an alliance with Renault in 1993. Technically, the two companies are separate. But the technologies, methods of work in the production of cars are the same. Also, the autoalliance has a single general director Carlos Gon. Nissan has a smaller stake in Renault, while Renault has a larger stake in Nissan, which is essentially a junior partner.

Porsche - Owned by Volkswagen

The car manufacturer is a subsidiary of Volkswagen.

Renault - Owned by the Renault-Nissan Alliance

Renault was once owned by the French government. In 1996 the company was privatized. But today, France still has a stake in Renault. Today, Renault is part of the world's largest auto alliance Renault-Nissan, which recently also included Mitsubishi.

Rolls-Royce - Owned by BMW

Rolls-Royce Motors was bought by Volkswagen in 1998. Five years later, the company was taken over by BMW.

Seat - Owned by Volkswagen

Since 1986 it has been the single largest car manufacturer in Spain. Since this year, the company has been part of Volkswagen.

Skoda - Owned by Volkswagen

Volkswagen began buying Skoda shares in 1991, at a time of great change in the former Czechoslovakia. Since 2000, Skoda has been wholly owned by the VW Group.

Smart - Owned by Daimler

Initially, the idea of ​​a radical city car was first proposed by the owner of watch manufacturer Swatch. Smart is now wholly owned by Daimler.

SsangYong - Owned by Mahindra & Mahindra

Although SsangYong is still based in South Korea, the main owner of the Korean auto brand is the Indian company Mahindra & Mahindra, which acquired a 70% stake in the Korean company in 2011.

Subaru - Owned by Fuji

Subaru is owned by Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), which will soon change its name to Subaru Corporation. FHI has six independent automotive companies. The major shareholders of the company are Toyota and Suzuki. Suzuki has a large share.

Vauxhall / Opel - Owned by PSA (Citroen-Peugeot)

Vauxhall cars / despite the fact that they were positioned as British and German car brands, in fact, for a long time they were part of the world's largest automaker General Motors. General Motors has owned the Vauxhall/Opel brands since 1925. In March 2017, it was announced that the Vauxhall/Opel brands were being taken over by the Citroen-Peugeot Auto Alliance (PSA).

Volvo - Owned by Geely

After being a completely independent Swedish car brand for more than 70 years, Volvo became part of Ford in 2000, which 9 years later sold the Swedish brand to the Chinese company Geely.

Lada AvtoVAZ - Owned by Renault-Nissan Alliance and Rostec

In 2008, a controlling stake in the AvtoVAZ car plant was received by Renault.

GAZ - Owned by Basic Element, Oleg Deripaska

In 2000, a controlling stake in GAZ OJSC was acquired by Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element. In 2001, the Gorky Automobile Plant became part of the RusPromAvto auto holding.

The Volkswagen concern is known all over the world. This is indeed the largest group of companies involved in the production of cars. The parent company (or, as they say, the parent company) is located in Wolfsburg and is called, as everyone knows, Volkswagen AG. Well, this concern has a very rich and long history and mass interesting facts. So it is worth talking about it in more detail.

Porsche and Volkswagen

So, the headquarters of this concern is located in Germany, in Wolfsburg. The company was named "Volkswagen", which in German means " people's car". To date, about half of the shares are owned by such a holding as Porsche SE. Nevertheless, the Volkswagen concern owns all one hundred percent of the ordinary shares of the intermediate holding, which is called Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH. In general, in fact, "Porsche" is the car that produces "Volkswagen". Today, management companies are negotiating to combine the firms into a single structure, which could be called VW-Porsche. It is also interesting that Martin Winterkorn (a fairly well-known personality in the automotive world) until September 2015 served as chairman of the board of both Volkswagen and Porsche.

But that is not all. Today, the Volkswagen Group consists of 342 companies that produce cars and provide services related to this area. It is the largest car manufacturer in the world. And of course, the undisputed leader of the European car market. 25% of the cars that drive on the roads of the continent are produced by Volkswagen.

About history

The Volkswagen concern begins its history in 1937. The founder of the company is Ferinand Porsche. It was he who created the so-called Society for the preparation of Volkswagen mbH. And in 1938, they began to build the first Volkswagen plant. Of course, it was in Wolfsburg. In addition to the automotive industry, the plant was engaged in another type of activity. The Volkswagen AG concern then provided logistics and financial services. And besides that, he had a small food business.

In the 1990s, the company began to experience major difficulties. There were some serious financial problems. But thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of Ferdinand Piech, everything worked out. In fact, this man saved Volkswagen. The concern switched to a 4-day working week, began to follow an offensive policy and began to develop at an even faster pace. In the end, the company managed to acquire just a huge number of popular brands.

Rolls Royce and Suzuki

From 1998 to 2002, the Volkswagen automobile concern was engaged in the production of cars such as Rolls-Royce. All people know about these luxurious models, even those who are not familiar with the auto world. This topic is quite interesting. A division of the Volkswagen Bentley group was engaged in the production of these cars under an agreement with another company - BMW. Why? But because the Munich company bought from such a concern as Vickers, the rights to this brand. And since 2003, only BMW has the right to manufacture and produce cars with the eminent Rolls-Royce emblem.

In 2009, the Volkswagen Group stepped even further - it entered into an alliance with a company such as Suzuki. The firms exchanged blocks of shares (German manufacturers got 20% of Suzuki's shares) and announced the joint development of so-called ecological machines. But in 2011, the alliance broke up, which was announced to the world.

2015 scandal

In September of the current year, 2015, a worldwide scandal broke out around Volkswagen. The concern was accused of the fact that the program that the developers used in the on-board computers they produce determined one important moment. Namely, in what mode the machine works - in normal or in test mode. This program was started in cars with diesel power units. Including VW Jetta, Audi A3, Golf, Passat, Beetle. When testing began, the car automatically switched to an environmentally friendly mode of operation. A very smart and thoughtful system, I must say. However, this turned out to be a huge disaster for the concern and financial costs.

protection agency environment stated that for absolutely every car that does not meet US standards, the company will have to pay a fine of 37.5 thousand dollars. It turns out a fabulous amount. After all, since 2008 the concern has sold 482,000 cars. And the total amount of fines can reach 18 billion! To date, half a million of its vehicles have been recalled from the United States. This is also a loss. The chairman of the company, Martin Winterkorn, apologized publicly after the incident and said that he would definitely support the investigation. By the way, the ministry is engaged in it. After that, Martin retired after more than a dozen years working at Volkswagen.

Acquired companies before 2000

So, it is worth talking in more detail about what is included in the Volkswagen concern. Naturally, the main part of it is the Volkswagen company, which produces cars. The company is not formalized as a “daughter” of the parent concern, but is a division directly reporting to the management of VW AG.

In 1964, the company "Audi" was attached to this structure. It was purchased from Daimler-Benz. Next after Audi was a company such as NSU Motorenwerke. She was bought in 1969. This brand has not been used as an independent brand for a long time - since 1977. And before that, the company produced motorcycles and cars.

They took over the Spanish brand Seat, which has existed since 1950. Volkswagen owns 99.99% of the company's shares. The most interesting models began to appear after Seat joined the German structure. For example, SEAT Bocanegra with a 180-horsepower engine, which was designed by Lamborghini specialists.

In 1991, the company acquired the Czech Škoda, and then returned to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. This company was once part of VW AG, but in 1995 it became an independent brand. Or rather, a division. Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini - these brands are known all over the world today. And these are concerns owned by Volkswagen since 1998. That year was a shock year for the company. After all, these cars are considered one of the most popular, well-known and actively bought by people.

Acquired firms after 2000

The Volkswagen Group continued to acquire shares further. In 2009, he bought almost 71% of Scania AB. This production is engaged in the development and production of dump trucks, buses, trucks, truck tractors and diesel engines. Another company, MAN AG, bought in 2011, produces all of the above, as well as hybrid power units in addition. VW AG owns 55.9% of the company's shares.

Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A and ItalDesign Giugiaro are two other manufacturers bought by Volkswagen. The first of these companies is one of the leading manufacturers of premium motorcycles. And the second is a studio engaged in the design of cars. Interestingly, 90% of the shares of this company in 2010 were bought by the Lamborghini holding. So Volkswagen was already the owner of the studio, but after the paperwork was completed, it also became the official owner.

And one more interesting information. VW AG acquired the Russian Aleko in 2013 (it was under this TM that the well-known cheap Moskviches were sold for some time). The right to use this brand and any emblems belongs to the German concern until 2021.

Financial questions

In 1991, in March, in order to optimize the organizational structure, the German concern decided to form an internal division that would deal with financial matters. It was named Volkswagen Finanz. In 1994 it became a closed joint stock company. This banking and financial structure gets full access to international financial markets, as well as the ability to finance at a very favorable conditions. This division deals with important issues. For example, financing the development, production and purchase of machines for corporate and individual customers. It also provides banking, leasing and insurance services to these individuals. In general, useful activity and, most importantly for the company, profitable.

About profit

And a couple of interesting facts in the end. In 2010, VW AG made a huge amount of money, amounting to 57.243 billion euros! But out of all this, the net profit turned out to be only 1.55 billion. It seems small compared to the revenue. However, this is actually a lot of money. After all, all expenses that go to almost 350 companies are taken into account. Because the profit is really solid. Therefore, it is not surprising that Volkswagen is by far the largest, richest and most famous company.

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 raw materials delivery and finished products to points of sale.

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. Serving service centres Volkswagen operates 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 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.

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.

AT post-war period Lower Saxony, in 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. Except release own cars, the acquired division of Volkswagen Bentley assembled 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 Volkswagen brands, Audi, Škoda, Seat, Porsche. 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.

• 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 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.

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.

In the late nineties, the company became even more famous, as 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 (1/5 of all shares of the Japanese company went to the German company). And then they made an announcement for a joint development special cars, which 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 passenger cars. This group is not registered as a child 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 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 cars 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.