Volkswagen AG, known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery, as well as offering related services, including financing, leasing and fleet management.

In 2016, it was the world's largest automaker by sales, overtaking Toyota and keeping this title in 2017, 2018 and 2019, selling 10.9 million vehicles. It has maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades. Volkswagen ranked seventh in the 2020 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies.

The company has operations in roughly 150 countries, and it has 100 production facilities across 27 countries.

Volkswagen’s timeline

On 28 May 1937, Volkswagen (meaning 'People's car' in German) was founded in Berlin as the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH

On 16 September 1938, Gezuvor was renamed Volkswagenwerk GmbH ('Volkswagen Factory GmbH')

In 1938, Beetle was production-ready. It laid the foundation for the Volkswagen Group. More than 21.5 million units were produced and it became the most successful car of its time.

In 1947, Volkswagen began its global operations when five Beetles were exported to the Netherlands

In 1949, The Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle is exhibited and sold in the United States for the first time.

In 1952, Volkswagen set up foreign sales divisions in Canada and Brazil

In 1960, the company was privatized and changed into a stock corporation.

In 1965, Volkswagen acquired Auto Union GmbH to become a multi-brand group. It merged with NSU Motorenwerke Aktiengesellschaft in 1969 to form Audi AG.

The ancestor of the VW cars new generation is the front-drive VW Passat, released in 1973.

1974 was marked by the appearance of the sports VW Scirocco with a three-door coupe and engines from 1093 to 1588 ccs, as well as the compact three- and five-door VW Golf hatchback.

In 1975, Volkswagen Polo  was presented. Under its hood was a powerplant with a capacity of 40 horsepower. In addition, in 1976, the Volkswagen Polo sedan was developed on the basis of the Audi 50

In 1978, Volkswagen opens its first U.S. factory in New Stanton, Pennsylvania, for North American production of the Rabbit, a hot seller known as the Golf in Europe.

In 1983, the renewal of the Volkswagen Group began, the new generation of the sports Volkswagen Scirocco was introduced to the motorists.

In 1998, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti  got under the control of Volkswagen

In 2002, Volkswagen announces the Phaeton line, a play for the luxury market, and the Touareg, the company’s first modern sport-utility vehicle

In July 2008, VW announces plans for a $1 billion assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee

In 2009, Volkswagen and Porsche announce a merger on May 6

In 2021, Volkswagen Group released their New Auto strategy. The strategy was based on transitioning to electric cars, and building a shared platform, battery systems, software and mobility solutions to use across all their brands. Volkswagen Group aims by 2024 to transition to selling mostly electric cars. It aims to have six battery factories in Europe by 2030.

According to Wikipedia; idaoffice; fastcompany