Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a German car maker with headquarters in Wolfsburg. The Nazi labor organization founded it in 1937 to build a small people's car, and production grew after World War II. Volkswagen Group is now a multi-brand corporation. Volkswagen is one of the largest carmakers by volume, with plants in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Its Wolfsburg factory is among the largest car plants in the world.

Its brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, SEAT, Cupra, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati. Truck brands include MAN and Scania. The Golf, Passat and the Beetle are among its best-known models.

The group is investing in electric vehicles under the ID model range and in its own software unit, called Cariad. Volkswagen paid heavy fines after the 2015 diesel emissions scandal. The Porsche and Piech families control the majority of voting shares. The group also owns the software firm Cariad, battery plans under PowerCo and a financial services arm. It employs hundreds of thousands of people. Competitors include Toyota, Stellantis and Hyundai.