Overview
Volkswagen in 2023 was the world’s second-largest vehicle marketer based on number of vehicles sold, behind Toyota Motor Corp.
Volkswagen is based in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Datacenter
Volkswagen—ad spending, facts and profile
Stats and facts on the biggest U.S. and global advertisers
Credit:
Ad Age composite
Business segments and operations
See more: Volkswagen’s business and brands
The Volkswagen group includes:
Core brand group: Volkswagen, Škoda, Seat/Cupra and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
Progressive brand group: Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati
Sport Luxury brand group: Porsche
Volkswagen is developing a U.S. brand, Scout, that plans to market electric pickup trucks and rugged sport utility vehicles.
Volkswagen also controls Traton, a truck and bus marketer with brands including Scania, MAN, International (formerly Navistar) and Volkswagen Truck & Bus.
Production:
Arlington, Virginia-based Scout Motors expects to begin production of Scout vehicles from a new factory in South Carolina in 2027.
Audi in 2016 opened an assembly plant in Mexico, its first factory in North America.
Volkswagen opened an auto factory in Tennessee in 2011. This was Volkswagen’s second run at U.S. manufacturing. Volkswagen previously operated a factory in Pennsylvania that opened in 1978 and closed in 1988.
Rankings
Toyota regained status as the world’s biggest vehicle seller in 2020, passing Volkswagen. Toyota and Volkswagen continued as Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Volkswagen in 2016 topped Toyota in worldwide vehicle sales, taking the lead for the first time. Volkswagen kept the top spot in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Toyota was No. 1 from 2007 through 2010; No. 2, behind General Motors Co., in 2011; and No. 1 from 2012 through 2015.
Marketing spending
U.S. ad spending:
Total U.S. advertising spending shown in the Ad Age Leading National Advertisers report is an Ad Age Datacenter estimate.
Worldwide ad spending:
Total worldwide advertising spending shown in the Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers report is an Ad Age Datacenter estimate.
Links to Ad Age’s advertiser rankings
Latest rankings: U.S.
The Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2024 ranking was released on Oct. 28, 2024.
Past rankings: U.S.
Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2023
Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2022
Latest rankings: worldwide
The Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2024 ranking was released on Dec. 9, 2024.
Past rankings: worldwide
Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2023
Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2022
Deals and strategic moves
Porsche:
Volkswagen in September 2022 sold a minority stake in its Porsche unit (Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG) through an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Volkswagen continued to consolidate Porsche, a German sports car manufacturer, in its consolidated financial statements after the IPO.
Volkswagen held 75.4% of the share capital of Porsche as of year-end 2023, according to Porsche’s annual financial statements.
Volkswagen in August 2012 took control of Porsche under a complicated deal.
Volkswagen and Porsche in May 2009 issued a statement confirming their intent to create “an integrated automotive group.”
The companies agreed on general terms of a deal in August 2009. Volkswagen in 2009 took a 49.9% stake in Porsche. Long-awaited plans for a merger of the two companies continued in 2011. But the two automakers in September 2011 said a merger couldn’t be completed by the end of 2011.
The two companies in July 2012 agreed on an alternative deal. Specifically, effective Aug. 1, 2012, Volkswagen and Porsche formally created an “Integrated Automotive Group.” Volkswagen at that point bought the remaining 50.1% stake in Porsche AG from Porsche Automobil Holding SE (Porsche SE), giving Volkswagen 100% ownership of Porsche AG. Porsche SE at that point owned 50.7% of Volkswagen. The result was that Porsche’s auto business came under the Volkswagen umbrella.
Traton:
Volkswagen controls Traton, a truck and bus marketer whose brands include Scania, MAN, International and Volkswagen Truck & Bus.
Volkswagen at year-end 2023 owned an 89.72% stake in Traton, according to Traton’s annual report.
Germany-based Traton in July 2021 bought the remaining portion of U.S. truck marketer Navistar International Corp. for about $3.7 billion. Traton already owned a 16.7% stake in Navistar, which marketed International brand commercial trucks and engines and IC Bus brand school and commercial buses.
Navistar owned the trademark for Scout, a defunct SUV brand that Volkswagen is resurrecting as a U.S. brand of electric pickups and SUVs.
Navistar in October 2024 changed its name to International Motors.
Volkswagen in June 2019 staged an initial public offering for a minority stake in Traton, formerly Volkswagen Truck & Bus.
In announcing a potential IPO in September 2018, Frank Witter, a member of Volkswagen’s management, said: “As passenger car and truck business are fundamentally different and synergies are basically limited to procurement, the separation of the two areas makes absolute sense.”
Volkswagen in August 2018 changed the name of Volkswagen Truck & Bus to Traton Group.
China joint ventures:
Volkswagen is a partner in joint ventures in China.
SAIC-Volkswagen Automobile Co. is a joint venture that is 50% owned by China’s SAIC Motor Corp. and 50% by Volkswagen.
SAIC-Volkswagen Sales Co. is a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. Volkswagen as of 2023 said it owned a 30% stake.
SAIC-Volkswagen Sales Co. sells passenger cars for SAIC-Volkswagen Automobile Co. As a result, SAIC-Volkswagen Automobile Co.’s sales revenue is mostly generated from its business with SAIC-Volkswagen Sales Co.
Volkswagen also has a joint venture in China with another auto manufacturer, China FAW Group Corp., that develops, produces and sells passenger cars. Volkswagen as of 2023 said it owned a 40% stake in that joint venture, FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co. China FAW Group Corp. was originally known as First Automotive Works.
Bugatti-Rimac:
Volkswagen in November 2021 moved Bugatti, a French luxury high-performance car brand, into a joint venture with Rimac Automobili, a Croatia-based electric supercar startup.
Rimac held a 55% share in the joint venture, Bugatti-Rimac, which has its headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia. Volkswagen’s Porsche had a 45% stake in the joint venture. Porsche held a 22% stake in Rimac directly. Porsche has been an investor in Rimac since 2018.
Other deals and strategic moves:
Volkswagen in September 2015 sold its 19.9% stake in Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. back to Suzuki for 3.1 billion euros ($3.5 billion). Volkswagen in 2009 bought that stake, but the relationship soon fractured. Suzuki filed an arbitration claim against Volkswagen; the German automaker filed counterclaims. Suzuki in November 2012 announced it was exiting the U.S. auto market.
Volkswagen’s Audi in July 2012 bought Ducati Motor Holding, an Italian motorcycle manufacturer, bringing Ducati into the group. Audi paid 747 million euros ($917 million). (Ducati officially was purchased by Lamborghini, which is an Italian subsidiary of Audi.)
Management and employees
Oliver Blume is chairman of the board of management of both Volkswagen and Porsche.
See more: Volkswagen’s management
See more: Volkswagen careers
Stock
Volkswagen trades on Xetra under ticker VOW.
History
Volkswagenwerk GmbH was founded in 1937 as a subsidiary of the German Labor Front, the largest organization of the National Socialists in the German Reich (Nazi Germany).
Volkswagen entered the U.S. market in 1949.
