Volkswagen AG (VW), Major German automobile manufacturer. It was founded in 1937 to mass-produce a low-priced “people’s car” (Volkswagen). After World War II the company was rebuilt with Allied help, and within a decade it was producing half of West Germany’s motor vehicles. U.S. sales of the small, rounded car were initially low, but a humorous advertising campaign promoting the car as “the Beetle” lifted sales in the 1960s, making it the leading auto import in the U.S. Competition from other foreign compact cars brought VW near bankruptcy by 1974, but the firm rebounded by introducing sportier models such as the Rabbit. In 1998 it launched a fully redesigned version of the Beetle. With its affiliates, VW operates plants worldwide; it also owns other auto brands, including Audi and Bentley.
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