Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German corporation. It was founded in 1937 as a public concern by the then Nazi government to sell the now legendary Volkswagen Beetle automobile. After the Second World War in 1945, the British Army took control of the bomb-shattered factory and restarted Beetle production for the difficult post-war years which Germany had to face. In 1948, the British Government handed the company back over to the German private sector, where it was managed by ex-Opel chief Heinz Nordoff.
In 1960 the company's name became Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft (Aktiengesellschaft, abbreviated AG, being equivalent to the English Corp[oration] or American Inc[orporated]). The name was changed to VOLKSWAGEN AG on 4th July 1985. The corporation now goes by that name or 'Volkswagen Group', and is currently the third largest car-manufacturer in the world.
Current automobile brands owned by the company:
- Audi
- Bentley
- Bugatti
- Lamborghini
- SEAT
- Skoda
and, of course,
- Volkswagen