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This article is about Volkswagen Group and its parent company, Volkswagen AG. For the Volkswagen brand of cars, see Volkswagen. For Volkswagen vans and light trucks, see Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. For the Brazilian heavy trucks and buses company, see Volkswagen Trucks and Buses. Volkswagen Group is a German automobile manufacturing group; as of November 2009[update], the largest automobile maker in the world by vehicle production.[4] The parent company of the Group, Volkswagen AG, less often referred to as VWAG,[5][6] develops vehicles and components for the whole group, and also manufactures Volkswagen branded cars and commercial vehicles.[7] In August 2009, Porsche SE and Volkswagen Group reached an agreement that Volkswagen AG and Porsche AG would merge in 2011.[8] Although it operates worldwide, Volkswagen Group's core market is Europe. Of its car brands, Volkswagen Passenger Cars is its mainstream marque, and the Group's major subsidiaries also include well-known car marques like Audi, SEAT, Škoda, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Bugatti. The Group also has operations in commercial vehicles, owning Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, along with a controlling stake in Swedish truck and engine maker Scania AB, and a 29.9% stake in MAN SE. Volkswagen's second-largest market is China where its subsidiary, Volkswagen Group China, is by far the largest joint venture automaker. The Volkswagen Golf is the third bestselling car in the world, selling over 25 million cars through 2006. In 2007 the Volkswagen Group sold 6.19 million automobiles, claiming over 10% of the world passenger car market.[citation needed]
[edit] History
Volkswagen was founded on 28 May 1937 as the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH[9] by the Nazi Deutsche Arbeitsfront.[10] The purpose of the company was to manufacture the Volkswagen Type 1, later better known as the Volkswagen Beetle.[9] On 16 September 1938, the company was renamed Volkswagenwerk GmbH.[9] After the Second World War in June 1945, Major Ivan Hirst[9] of the British Army (REME) took control of the bomb-shattered factory, and tried to dismantle it and ship it home. However, no British car manufacturer was interested; "the vehicle does not meet the fundamental technical requirement of a motor-car ... it is quite unattractive to the average buyer ... To build the car commercially would be a completely uneconomic enterprise".[11] As part of the Industrial plans for Germany, large parts of German industry, including Volkswagen, were to be dismantled. Total German car production was set at a maximum of 10% of the 1936 car production numbers.[12] The company survived by producing cars for the British Army, and in 1948, the British Government handed the company back over to the German state, where it was managed by former-Opel chief Heinrich Nordhoff.  In 1960, upon the floatation of part of the German federal government's stake in the company on the German stock market, its name became Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft, abbreviated AG. The company name was changed to Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft on 4 July 1985, to reflect the company's increasing global diversification from its headquarters and main plant, the Volkswagenwerk in Wolfsburg. From the late 1970s to 1992, the acronym V.A.G was used by Volkswagen AG for group-wide activities, such as distribution and leasing.[13] Whilst there was no official meaning given for the V.A.G acronym, it was ascribed different meanings in different locations - in Germany Volkswagen Audi Gesellschaft was assumed, whilst in the United Kingdom, Volkswagen Audi Group was used on official communications.[citation needed] Volkswagen Group revealed on 24 October 2009 that it had made an offer to acquire long-time partner Karmann out of bankruptcy protection.[14] [edit] OwnershipUnder the so-called "Volkswagen Law", no shareholder in Volkswagen AG can exercise more than 20% of the firm's voting rights, regardless of their level of stock holding.[15] In October 2005, Porsche acquired an 18.53% stake in the business, and in July 2006, Porsche increased that ownership to more than 25%. Analysts disagreed as to whether the investment was a good fit for Porsche's strategy.[16] On 26 March 2007, after the European Union moved against a German law that protected Volkswagen Group from takeovers, Porsche took its holding to 30.9%, triggering a takeover bid under German law. Porsche formally announced in a press statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen Group, setting its offer price at the lowest possible legal value, but intended the move to avoid a competitor taking a large stake, or to stop hedge funds dismantling Volkswagen Group, which is Porsche's most important partner.[17] On 3 March 2008, Porsche announced that it has decided to increase its Volkswagen AG stake up to 51 per cent, which would be completed before the end of the year. This was announced just hours after VWAG declared it would take a majority stake in the Swedish truck maker Scania.[18] On 16 September 2008, Porsche announced that the company had increased its stake in Volkswagen AG to 35%.[19] As of October 2008, Porsche held 42.6 percent of Volkswagen AG's ordinary shares, and holds stock options on another 31.5 percent.[citation needed] On 28 October 2008, Porsche announced that they effectively held over 74%, 42.6% actual shares and the rest as convertible options. It was announced on 7 January 2009 that Porsche now owns 50.76% of Volkswagen AG.[20] Volkswagen AG briefly became the world's most valuable company, as the stock price rose to over €1,000 per share as short sellers tried to cover their positions.[21] [edit] Leadership
[edit] Corporate structure, brands and companiesThe Volkswagen Group comprises nine active automotive companies, and their corresponding marques:
Note: From July 1998 until December 2002, the Group's Bentley division also sold cars under the Rolls-Royce marque, under an agreement with BMW, which had bought the rights to the Rolls-Royce name, but not the Rolls-Royce operations. From 2003, only BMW has been able to make cars under the Rolls-Royce marque. The Group also owns five inactive marques, via Audi AG:
These heritage marques are retained and managed through the companies Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, both of which are 100% owned by Audi AG. [edit] Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AGIn December 2009, Volkswagen AG bought a 49.9% stake in Porsche AG in a first step towards an integrated automotive group with Porsche. This was agreed between Volkswagen AG and Porsche SE during negotiations on the contracts of implementation relating to the merger of the two companies. The merger of Volkswagen AG and Porsche SE is scheduled to take place during the course of 2011.[24] [edit] Suzuki Motor CorporationVolkswagen AG and Suzuki Motor Corporation have reached a common understanding to establish a close long-term strategic partnership. Volkswagen will purchase 19.9% of Suzuki's issued shares. The transaction is subject to approval of the relevant authorities and is expected to complete in January 2010. Suzuki intends to invest up to one half of the amount received from Volkswagen into shares of Volkswagen.[25] [edit] Commercial vehicle interestsVolkswagen AG is the controlling shareholder in the Swedish commercial vehicle maker Scania AB,[2] with a capital stake of 37.73%, and 68.60% of the voting rights. Volkswagen AG originally acquired a stake in Scania after Volvo's aborted takeover attempt in 2000, and then increased that to a capital stake of 16.5% and a voting stake of 33.4% in 2007. On 3 March 2008, Volkswagen announced that it would acquire all the shares in Scania AB held by Investor AB and the Wallenberg Foundation. Once cleared by the relevant authorities, Scania became the ninth marque in the Volkswagen Group. On 4 October 2006, Volkswagen acquired a 15.1% stake in German commercial vehicle maker MAN AG,[2] and later increased to 29.9%. In 2007, MAN AG launched a hostile offer to acquire Scania AB, but this was subsequently withdrawn. Former Volkswagen Group CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder, and his successor Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, have considered a three-way merger between MAN, Scania, Volkswagen AG's own Brazilian heavy truck division, and possibly their light truck and van division as well. Due to the size of Volkswagen AG's stakes in MAN and Scania, it is expected that Volkswagen AG would own a majority stake in such a merged entity. [edit] Scania ABThe Wallenberg family began divesting its interests in various Swedish companies, but as a result of Volvo's aborted takeover of Scania AB, it agreed to hold a "significant share holding" in only one of Sweden's heavy truck manufacturers. This resulted in Volkswagen AG securing an 18% capital stake and 34% voting stake in Scania AB. On the 3 March 2008, it was announced that the Wallenberg's would sell their remaining stake in Scania AB to Volkswagen AG. The purchase of the stake increased Volkswagen AG's total votes in Scania to 68.60% (previously 37.98%) which corresponds to 37.73% of the capital (previously 20.89%).[26] [edit] MAN SEVolkswagen AG has a 29.9% stake in German truck manufacturer MAN SE (formerly MAN AG). In 2006, MAN AG launched a takeover bid for the Swedish truck maker Scania, in which Volkswagen AG held, at the time, 20.3% of company and 35.31% of the voting stock. Volkswagen AG had announced that it would like to see MAN and Scania merge, together along with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Truck and Bus operations, and form a new company in which Volkswagen AG has a blocking minority stake. However later press released stated that such a merger was not a priority, and Scania would continue to be run as a separate entity. A merged MAN-Scania would become the largest European truck maker, leapfrogging both Volvo AB and Daimler AG. However, Daimler will still be the largest worldwide truck maker, as it has operations in the U.S., where MAN and Scania currently do not. [edit] Ownership
The share ownership of Volkswagen AG is distributed as follows: In percent of voting rights:[27]
These figures are likely to change dramatically, as Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft has agreed the issue of new shares to facilitate the merger with Porsche.[28] [edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange | Volkswagen | Companies established in 1937 | German brands | Companies of Germany | Motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany | Motor vehicle companies | Conglomerate companies | Motor vehicle engine manufacturers | Marine engine manufacturers | Emergency services equipment makers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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