Karobes Limited was a leading British supplier of car accessories in the 1950s–1970s. The company was based in Leamington Spa in central England. In the 1950s it was the major seller of seat covers in the UK and had the reputation of selling luxury goods:
73-423: NSU Motorenwerke AG , or NSU , was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873. Acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969, VW merged NSU with Auto Union , creating Audi NSU Auto Union AG, ultimately Audi. The NSU name came from the city it was based in, Neckarsulm , contracted to three letters. NSU originated as the "Mechanische Werkstätte zur Herstellung von Strickmaschinen",
146-538: A knitting machine manufacturer established in 1873 by Christian Schmidt, a technically astute entrepreneur, in the town of Riedlingen on the Danube . The business relocated in 1880 to Neckarsulm . There followed a period of rapid growth and in 1886, the company began to produce bicycles , the first of them a 'high wheeler' or ' Penny-farthing ' branded as the "Germania". By 1892, bicycle manufacturing had completely replaced knitting machine production. At about this time,
219-431: A $ 2.8 billion criminal fine for rigging diesel-powered vehicles to cheat on government emissions tests". The "unprecedented" plea deal formalized a punishment that Volkswagen AG agreed to earlier in 2017. In addition, the plea deal includes a $ 1.5 billion settlement for various environmental, customs and financial violations. Overall, Volkswagen will pay more than $ 30 billion in penalties and lawsuit settlements related to
292-480: A 129 hp (96 kW) 995 cc (60.7 cu in) 2-rotor. In the same year Prinz 1000 and derivatives like the TT and TT/S followed. The Typ 110 (later called 1200SC) was launched in 1965 as a family car with a more spacious body design. The last NSU cars with a conventional four-stroke engine had the air-cooled OHC four-cylinder engine in common. The car was marketed in the U.K. as "NSU TYP 110", and Karobes ,
365-540: A 21 cm extended wheelbase. The first "Neckarsulmer Motorrad" motorcycle was produced in 1901, using a Swiss 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 hp (1.8 PS ; 1.3 kW ) Zedel single-cylinder AIV (automatic inlet valve) motor with battery/coil ignition, clamped at the underside of a heavy-duty bicycle frame (of NSU manufacture), with the crankcase slightly below and in front of the pedal crank. Specialized racing motorcycles were campaigned from 1905 in events in Europe,
438-586: A 51% controlling stake in SEAT, making it the first non-German subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. On 23 December the same year, it became the Spanish company's major shareholder by increasing its share up to 75%. In 1990—after purchasing its entire equity—Volkswagen AG took over the full ownership of SEAT, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary, and on 28 March 1991, another step to the expansion of
511-527: A 90.1% stake in the Italian automotive design house Italdesign Giugiaro . In less than three months, the transaction had been completed making the Italian firm a member of the Volkswagen Group. Since 2013 the Volkswagen Group has held a 89.7% stake in Traton . In 2015 research showed a security flaw in the keyless ignition of Volkswagen and other carmakers' vehicles. Volkswagen spent two years trying to keep
584-520: A completely uneconomic enterprise." In 1948, the Ford Motor Company of USA was offered Volkswagen, but Ernest Breech , a Ford executive vice president, said he did not think either the plant or the car was "worth a damn." Breech later said that he would have considered merging Ford of Germany and Volkswagen, but after the war, ownership of the company was in such dispute that nobody could possibly hope to be able to take it over. As part of
657-578: A corporate "Strategy 2025" that focuses on electrification of its portfolio. The VW Group developed the Volkswagen Group MEB platform chassis that will be utilized in a range of various cars and light utility vehicles across several VW Group marques due to its flexibility and floor-mounted battery. As of May 2018, the VW Group has committed $ 48 billion in car battery supplies and plans to outfit 16 factories to build electric cars by
730-634: A drop in Chinese sales. On 18 September 2015, the US EPA announced that Volkswagen had installed a "defeat device" software code in the diesel models sold in the US from 2009 to 2015. The code was intended to detect when an emissions test was being conducted, and altered emissions controls for better compliance. Off the test stand, the controls were relaxed, and emissions jumped 35 to 40 times regulatory levels according to investigators at West Virginia University and
803-540: A major supplier of car accessories, provided a head rest specially for this car: "A new one which can be fitted without a screw, and may be adjusted forwards and backwards." Also in 1964, NSU partnered with Citroën to develop the Wankel engine via the Comotor subsidiary, which resulted in the abortive 1973 Citroën GS Birotor production car. In 1967, the four-door NSU Ro 80 , with a 115 hp (86 kW) version of
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#1732780305353876-616: A profit warning, saying it had set aside $ 7 billion to fix the fraud. On 23 September 2015, Martin Winterkorn announced his resignation from the CEO position after a crisis meeting of the company board. On 25 September 2015 Matthias Müller was named CEO. Müller was the head of the Porsche marque within the VW corporate umbrella. On 21 April 2017, a U.S. federal judge ordered Volkswagen "to pay
949-642: A technology cooperation and joint development agreement on platform and software. Rooted in Europe, the Volkswagen Group operates in 153 countries. Volkswagen Passenger Cars is the Group's original marque, and the other major subsidiaries include passenger car marques such as Audi , Bentley , Lamborghini , Porsche , SEAT , and Škoda . Volkswagen AG also has operations in commercial vehicles , owning Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles , along with controlling stakes in truck, bus and diesel engine manufacturers Scania AB and MAN SE . The Volkswagen Group comprises
1022-779: Is divided into two primary divisions : the Automotive Division and the Financial Services Division. As of 2008, it had about 342 subsidiary companies. Volkswagen also has three joint ventures in China, FAW-Volkswagen , SAIC Volkswagen and Volkswagen Anhui . The company has operations in roughly 150 countries, and it has 100 production facilities across 27 countries. Volkswagen was founded in Berlin in 1937 and incorporated in Wolfsburg to manufacture
1095-732: The Audi Brand Group focused on more sporty values – consisted of Audi, SEAT and Lamborghini – and the Volkswagen Brand Group on the field of classic values – consisted of Volkswagen, Skoda, Bentley and Bugatti – with each Brand Group's product vehicles and performance being respectively under the higher responsibility of Audi and Volkswagen brands. Volkswagen Group revealed on 24 October 2009 that it had made an offer to acquire long-time partner and German niche automotive manufacturer Wilhelm Karmann GmbH out of bankruptcy protection. In November 2009,
1168-620: The Delphin III , a fully streamlined motorcycle with a 500cc supercharged DOHC twin-cylinder Rennsport engine. This machine still exists, in the Audi Museum in Stuttgart , Germany. The NSU Quickly was the most popular moped of its time. It was produced between 1953 and 1966 in over 1,000,000 examples and still can be found today all over the world as more than 60% were exported. Bicycle production began in 1900 and continued into
1241-671: 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. 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, and it was managed by former Opel chief Heinrich Nordhoff . Production of
1314-890: The National Socialist Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labour Front) and incorporated in the Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben, ( " City of the Strength Through Joy car at Fallersleben ) on 28 May 1937. The purpose of the company was to manufacture the Volkswagen car, originally referred to as the Porsche Type 60, then the Volkswagen Type 1, and commonly called the Volkswagen Beetle . This vehicle
1387-763: The OTC Marketplace . Volkswagen delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2013. The government of Lower Saxony holds 12.7% of the company's shares, granting it, by law, 20% of the voting rights. Volkswagen (meaning 'People's car' in German) was founded in Berlin as the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH ('Limited Liability Company for the preparation of the German People's Car', abbreviated to Gezuvor ) by
1460-657: The Volkswagen Group , is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg , Lower Saxony , Germany, and since the late 2000s is a publicly-traded family business owned by Porsche SE , which in turn is half-owned but fully controlled by the Austrian-German Porsche and Piëch family . The company also offers related services, including financing, leasing, and fleet management. In 2016, it
1533-585: The Volkswagen Type 3 in 1961, the Volkswagen Type 4 in 1968, and the Volkswagen Type 181 in 1969. In 1960, upon the flotation of part of the German federal government 's stake in the company on the German stock market, its name became Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft (usually abbreviated to Volkswagenwerk AG ). On 1 January 1965, Volkswagenwerk acquired Auto Union GmbH from its parent company Daimler-Benz . The new subsidiary went on to produce
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#17327803053531606-575: The California Air Resources Board. About 482,000 vehicles are under the recall order, a potential $ 18 billion ($ 37,500 per violation) in fines are pending, and news accounts speculate a criminal indictment for the deception is certain. The VW Group CEO, Martin Winterkorn , said he was "deeply sorry" and ordered an external investigation. The software code was only revealed when the EPA refused to certify VW's 2016 models for sale in
1679-800: The European automotive industry had to follow. In 1973 the British Automobile Association together with the British Standards Institution conducted tests of head rests, and Karobes' "X10" head restraint was one of the only three models which passed the test (less than 45° head rotation, 32 km/h). Karobes was one of several car industry suppliers in Leamington Spa. Others of relevance were Lockheed (producing hydraulic brakes) and Automotive Products (automatic transmissions). In 1968, Karobes
1752-590: The HK101 continued to be sold by NSU as an all-terrain vehicle in a civilian version. The first postwar model was the NSU Fox in 1949, available in 2-stroke and 4-stroke versions. In 1953, the NSU Max followed, a 250 cc motorbike with a unique overhead camdrive driven by reciprocating rods. All these new models had an innovative monocoque frame of pressed steel and a central rear suspension unit. Albert Roder ,
1825-552: The Type 60 Volkswagen (re-designated Type 1 ) started slowly after the war due to the need to rebuild the plant and because of the lack of raw materials, but production grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s. The company began introducing new models based on the Type 1, all with the same basic air-cooled, rear-engine, rear-drive platform. These included the Volkswagen Type 2 in 1950, the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia in 1955,
1898-623: The UK, and USA. In 1907, British manager Martin Geiger rode an NSU in the inaugural Isle of Man TT, placing fifth. NSU had several successes in the Isle of Man TT races in the 1950s. In 1908, an NSU v-twin took part in the Ormonde-Daytona beach speed record races for cars and motorcycles, ridden by Eugene Gaestral, who returned with an improved machine the following year. During the 1930s, and in
1971-552: The US unless the corporation provided full disclosure. On Sunday, 20 September 2015, VW Group announced it was halting the sale of its four-cylinder diesel models in the US. The US EPA press release on its Notice of Violation, and the California Air Resources Board letter dated 18 September 2015 contain significant chronological detail of the agencies interaction with VW on the issue. On 22 September 2015, VW AG admitted that 11 million cars worldwide had been fitted with software intended to deceive emissions testing . The company issued
2044-535: The Volkswagen Group are (as at the financial year ending March 3): Karobes Karobes was listed as UK trademark 670281 (14 June 1948, till 1997). Several items Karobes developed and successfully marketed like carpets, reclining seats or head and back rests were later adopted by car manufacturers and not sold separately. The company's catalogues in the early 1970s offered a wide range of products, from heel pads (for high-heels ) to spotlight hoods, steering wheel gloves, vinyl roof kits and wiper attachments. One of
2117-401: The Volkswagen portfolio in 1998: Bentley , Lamborghini , and Bugatti . On 30 May 2000, after having gradually raised its equity share, Volkswagen AG took over the full ownership of Škoda Auto, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary. From 2002 up to 2007, the Volkswagen Group's automotive division was restructured so that two major Brand Groups with different profile would be formed,
2190-566: The Volkswagen. Only a small number of Type 60 Volkswagens were made during this time. The Fallersleben plant also manufactured the V-1 flying bomb , making the plant a major bombing target for the Allied forces. Slave labour was utilised in the Volkswagen plant, e.g. from Arbeitsdorf concentration camp. The company would admit in 1998 that it used 15,000 slaves during the war effort. German historians estimated that 80% of Volkswagen's wartime workforce
2263-417: The bomb-shattered factory for use in repairing British Army vehicles, pending the expected disposal of the plant tooling and equipment as war reparations . However, no British car manufacturer was interested. A British report on the car said that "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
NSU Motorenwerke - Misplaced Pages Continue
2336-660: The brand name NSU again after April 1977, when the last Ro 80 was sold. In 1985, the company name was shortened to Audi AG and management moved back to Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt . Even as production of the Ro 80 continued in the Neckarsulm plant, production of larger Audi models like 100 and 200 was started. The Porsche 924 and later Porsche 944 were also assembled at Neckarsulm. Those models were joint venture projects of Porsche and VW , but Porsche did not have
2409-535: The car that would become known as the Beetle . The company's production grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1965, it acquired Auto Union , which subsequently produced the first postwar Audi models. Volkswagen launched a new generation of front-wheel drive vehicles in the 1970s, including the Passat , Polo and Golf ; the latter became its bestseller. Volkswagen acquired a controlling stake in SEAT in 1986, making it
2482-482: The chief engineer behind the success story, made it possible that in 1955, NSU became the biggest motorcycle producer in the world. NSU also holds four world records for speed: 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1955. In August 1956, Wilhelm Herz at the Bonneville Salt Flats , Utah , became the first man to ride a motorcycle faster than 200 mph (322 km/h). In 1957, NSU re-entered the car market with
2555-466: The company's inventors, Leslie Morrison Keegan, filed several patents for head rests and seat covers in the late 1950s, for example Other inventors working at Karobes and filing patents were Barry Arnott, Leslie Morrison Keegan, Thomas Vincent Keegan and Gustav Donald Possart. In the mid-1960s a seat cover made of "wool tartan backed with ocelot velvet" retailed at £7 17s. 6d. In 1969 the U.S. legislation made head restraints compulsory in new cars, and
2628-4347: The early 1960s. NSU was the principal maker of the Kettenkrad halftracked motorcycle (1940–1949) The Sd.Kfz. 2 was designed and built by NSU Motorenwerke AG in Neckarsulm, Germany. Designed and patented in June 1939, it was used for the first time during the invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa in 1941. 1949 Moto Guzzi 1950 Benelli 1951 Moto Guzzi 1952 Moto Guzzi 1953 NSU 1954 NSU * 1955 MV Agusta 1956 MV Agusta 1957 Mondial 1958 MV Agusta 1959 MV Agusta 1960 MV Agusta 1961 Honda 1962 Honda 1963 Honda 1964 Yamaha 1965 Yamaha 1966 Honda 1967 Honda 1968 Yamaha 1969 Benelli 1970 Yamaha 1971 Yamaha 1972 Yamaha 1973 Yamaha 1974 Yamaha 1975 Harley-Davidson 1976 Harley-Davidson * 1977 Yamaha 1978 Kawasaki 1979 Kawasaki 1980 Kawasaki 1981 Kawasaki 1982 Yamaha 1983 Yamaha 1984 Yamaha 1985 Honda 1986 Honda 1987 Honda 1988 Honda 1989 Honda 1990 Yamaha 1991 Honda 1992 Honda 1993 Honda 1994 Honda 1995 Aprilia 1996 Honda 1997 Honda 1998 Aprilia 1999 Aprilia 2000 Yamaha 2001 Honda 2002 Aprilia 2003 Aprilia 2004 Honda 2005 Honda 2006 Aprilia 2007 Aprilia 2008 Aprilia 2009 Aprilia 2010 Suter 2011 Suter 2012 Suter 2013 Kalex 2014 Kalex 2015 Kalex 2016 Kalex 2017 Kalex 2018 Kalex 2019 Kalex 2020 Kalex 2021 Kalex 2022 Kalex 2023 Kalex 1949 Mondial 1950 Mondial 1951 Mondial 1952 MV Agusta 1953 MV Agusta 1954 NSU * 1955 MV Agusta 1956 MV Agusta 1957 Mondial 1958 MV Agusta 1959 MV Agusta 1960 MV Agusta 1961 Honda 1962 Honda 1963 Suzuki 1964 Honda 1965 Suzuki 1966 Honda 1967 Yamaha 1968 Yamaha 1969 Kawasaki 1970 Suzuki 1971 Derbi 1972 Derbi 1973 Yamaha 1974 Yamaha 1975 Morbidelli 1976 Morbidelli 1977 Morbidelli 1978 Minarelli 1979 Minarelli 1980 Minarelli 1981 Minarelli 1982 Garelli 1983 MBA 1984 Garelli 1985 MBA 1986 Garelli 1987 Garelli 1988 Derbi 1989 Honda 1990 Honda 1991 Honda 1992 Honda 1993 Honda 1994 Honda 1995 Honda 1996 Aprilia 1997 Aprilia 1998 Honda 1999 Honda 2000 Honda 2001 Honda 2002 Aprilia 2003 Aprilia 2004 Aprilia 2005 KTM 2006 Aprilia 2007 Aprilia 2008 Aprilia 2009 Aprilia 2010 Derbi 2011 Aprilia 2012 KTM 2013 KTM 2014 KTM 2015 Honda 2016 KTM 2017 Honda 2018 Honda 2019 Honda 2020 Honda 2021 KTM 2022 Gas Gas 2023 KTM 2024 CFMoto Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG ( German: [ˈfɔlksˌvaːɡn̩] ), known internationally as
2701-560: The early 1980s. Only Mazda has continued developing the Wankel engine and made several more cars with the Wankel engine. NSU developed their last car in a recognisably conventional layout, (front engine front wheel drive, water cooled) - this was the NSU K70, Volkswagen adopted this as their first water cooled front-engined car the VW K70. The first VW Golf cars used the NSU K70 engine which
2774-518: The effective end of the NSU marque with all future production to bear the Audi badge (although retaining the four interlocking circles of Auto Union). The management of the new combine was initially based at the Neckarsulm plant, however when the small rear-engined NSU models (Prinz 4, 1000, 1200) were phased out in 1973, the Ro 80 was the last car still in production carrying the NSU badge. Audi never made use of
2847-688: The end of 2022. According to VW Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess , the company will offer 25 electric models and 20 plug-in hybrids by 2020. Volkswagen Group came under pressure for cooperating with the Chinese government in the region of Xinjiang . In that same region, western-funded NGOs accused the Chinese government of having committed human rights abuses against the Uyghur minority group, which included mass surveillance , incarceration, and forced labor. After these accusations emerged, Volkswagen responded, "We do not assume any of our employees are forced laborers." Süddeutsche Zeitung claimed that Volkswagen
2920-469: The first non-German marque of the company, and acquired control of Škoda in 1994, of Bentley, Lamborghini, and Bugatti in 1998, Scania in 2008 and of Ducati, MAN, and Porsche in 2012. The company's operations in China have grown rapidly in the past decade, with the country becoming its largest market. In 2015, Volkswagen was discovered to have used defeat devices to deceive environmental regulators about how much NO x its cars were emitting. The company
2993-533: The first post-war Audi models, the Audi F103 series, shortly afterwards. Another German manufacturer, NSU Motorenwerke AG , was merged into Auto Union on 26 August 1969, creating a new company, Audi NSU Auto Union AG (later renamed AUDI AG in 1985). From the late 1970s to 1992, the acronym V.A.G. was used by Volkswagen AG as a brand for group-wide activities, such as distribution and leasing. Contrary to popular belief, "V.A.G." had no official meaning, and
NSU Motorenwerke - Misplaced Pages Continue
3066-503: The following vehicle manufacturers and their corresponding brands : Here are the brands operated under the Volkswagen Group: Other subsidiaries and shareholdings: The Group also owns five defunct marques which are managed through the companies Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, both of which are 100% owned by AUDI AG: In November 2018 Volkswagen's market capitalization was valued at US$ 73.8 billion. The key trends for
3139-573: The group's activities was made through the signing of a joint-venture partnership agreement with Škoda automobilová a.s. of Czechoslovakia , accompanied with the acquisition of a 30% stake in the Czech car manufacturer on 16 April 1991. On 19 December 1994, the group began the acquisition of Škoda Auto by raising its share to 60.3%. Later, on 11 December 1995, it became the Czech company's largest and controlling shareholder by increasing its share up to 70%. Three prestige automotive marques were added to
3212-465: The internal capacity to build the 924 and 944. Currently, Neckarsulm is the production plant for Audi's topline vehicles like A6 , A8 , and R8 . It is also the home of the "Aluminium- und Leichtbauzentrum" where Audi's aluminium-made space frame bodies are designed and engineered. NSU is primarily remembered today as the first licensee and one of only four automobile companies to produce cars for sale with rotary-piston " Wankel engines ". NSU invented
3285-670: The largest car manufacturer in the world by revenue. The Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the Audi , Bentley , Cupra , Jetta , Lamborghini , Porsche , SEAT , Škoda and Volkswagen brands, motorcycles under the Ducati name, light commercial vehicles under the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand, and heavy commercial vehicles via the marques of the listed subsidiary Traton ( International Motors , MAN , Scania and Volkswagen Truck & Bus ). It
3358-514: The manufacture of bicycles and motor-bicycles at Neckarsulm . For Germany, this was a time of new beginnings, and in July 1946, a new board was appointed, headed by General Director Walter Egon Niegtsch, who earlier in his career had spent 17 years with Opel . NSU motorbike production restarted, in a completely destroyed plant, with prewar designs like the Quick, OSL, and Konsul motorbikes; furthermore,
3431-464: The mid-1950s, NSU was the largest motorcycle producer of the world, in its peak year (1955) producing 350,000 machines. NSU holds four world records for speed: 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955. In 1956, NSU brought a team of six motorcycles of different engine capacities to Bonneville, Utah, to set World Land Speed Records. They had success in all categories, and most notably raised the absolute motorcycle speed record to 211 mph, with Wilhelm Herz piloting
3504-525: The name NSU appeared as a brand name. The first NSU motorcycle appeared in 1901, followed by the first NSU car in 1905. During World War I the company produced motorcycles and trucks for the German Army . In 1932, under pressure from their bank ( Dresdner Bank ), NSU recognised the failure of their attempt to break into volume automobile production, and their recently built car factory in Heilbronn
3577-585: The new Prinz (Prince), a small car with a doubled NSU Max engine, an air-cooled two-cylinder engine of 600 cc (37 cu in) and 20 hp (15 kW). Motorbike production continued until 1968. NSU's last production motorcycle was the Quick 50 . In 1964, NSU offered the world's first Wankel engined car: the Wankelspider . In development of the project, NSU built the Sport Prinz , with
3650-463: The principle of the modern Wankel engine with an inner rotor. The NSU Ro 80 was the second mass-produced two-rotor Wankel-powered vehicle after the Mazda Cosmo . In 1967, NSU and Citroën set up a common company, Comotor , to build engines for Citroën and other car makers. Norton made motorcycles using Wankel engines. AvtoVaz (Lada) manufactured single and twin rotored Wankel powered cars in
3723-477: The purchase of 19.9% of Suzuki Motor Corporation 's issued shares on 15 January 2010. Suzuki invested part of the amount received from Volkswagen into 1.49% percent of Volkswagen. In 2011, Suzuki filed a lawsuit at an arbitration court in London requesting that Volkswagen return the 19.9% stake. On 25 May 2010, it was announced that Volkswagen Group, through its subsidiary Lamborghini Holding S.p.A., had acquired
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#17327803053533796-566: The remaining half of Porsche shares for 4.46 billion euros (US$ 5.58 billion) on 1 August 2012 to avoid taxes of as much as 1.5 billion euros, which would have to be paid if the wrap up happened after 31 July 2014. Volkswagen AG purchased the remaining stake in Porsche AG equaling 100% of the shares in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH, effectively becoming its parent company as of 1 August 2012. Volkswagen AG completed
3869-487: The research from the public domain. On 3 August 2015, Nokia announced that it had reached a deal to sell its Here digital maps division to a consortium of three German automakers— BMW , Daimler AG , and Volkswagen Group, for €2.8 billion. This was seen as an indication that the automakers were interested in automated cars. Volkswagen held a 19.9% non-controlling shareholding in Suzuki between 2009 and 2015. An international arbitration court ordered Volkswagen to sell
3942-420: The rotary engine was very cost-intensive for the small company. Problems with the apex seals of the engine rotor significantly damaged the brand's reputation amongst consumers. In 1969, the company was taken over by Volkswagenwerk AG , which merged NSU with Auto Union , the owners of the Audi brand which Volkswagen had acquired five years earlier. The new company was called Audi NSU Auto Union AG and represented
4015-453: The rotary-piston engine, with the notable exception of BMW . Despite its public acclaim, sales of the Ro 80 were disappointing. The transmission drew complaints and the engine suffered numerous failures even at low mileage. Competitor automakers, apart from Mazda , held back from taking a lead in developing and marketing the Wankel technology, and anticipated income associated with those royalty deals failed to materialize. The development of
4088-450: The same 2-rotor, was presented to the public. Weighing 1,200 kg (2,600 lb), it had a C d of 0.36, disc brakes , independent suspension , and front wheel drive by Fichtel & Sachs Saxomatic three-speed transmission . It soon gained several design awards such as "car of the year 1967", while drivers liked its performance. Virtually all the world's major motor manufacturers purchased licenses from NSU to develop and produce
4161-399: The scandal. In its own financial report for 2023 Volkswagen Group estimated its long, medium and short term debt at 155,6 Billion Euros. It is unclear how Volkswagen group plans to pay off that massive debt considering its falling global vehicle deliveries, planned closure of at least 3 factories in Germany after it previously closed 2 factories in Russia as well as 64% drop in profit for
4234-422: The single cylinder 3-wheeled Sulmobil, first produced in 1905. At the same time NSU produced the NSU-Pipe 34 PS and NSU-Pipe 50 PS under licence from the Belgian firm of Pipe . Two further Pipe models were to follow, and a range of NSU-specific 3- and 4-wheeled models. NSU-Cars (licensed from Pipe) 1905–1910 Source: NSU-Cars 1905–1918 Source: Source: NSU produced the following postwar cars: The NSU Prinz
4307-769: The stake back to Suzuki. On 17 September 2015, Suzuki paid $ 3.8bn to complete the stock buy-back just hours prior to a major scandal about emissions violations engulfing Volkswagen. Suzuki had wished to buy Fiat diesel engines. In 2021, Volkswagen sold their 55% stake in Bugatti to Rimac Group while transferring the remaining 45% to Porsche AG , forming a joint venture company called Bugatti Rimac . In early 2024, Volkswagen Group began looking for partners among international technology corporations to create AI labs, new digital prototypes of products and functions using artificial intelligence. In October 2024, Volkswagen plans to close at least three plants in Germany and cut jobs, facing challenges from delayed EV investments and
4380-407: The supervisory board of Volkswagen AG approved the acquisition of assets of Karmann, and planned to restart vehicle production at their Osnabrück plant in 2012. In December 2009, Volkswagen AG bought a 49.9% stake in Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (more commonly known as Porsche AG) in a first step towards an 'integrated automotive group' with Porsche. The merger of Volkswagen AG and Porsche SE
4453-815: The three months to the end of September 2024. Latest setback for Volkswagen came on November 21, 2024 when Swedish battery producer Northvolt filed for bankruptcy, Volkswagen previously invested 1,4 Billion Euros in their failed business. On November 27, 2024 Volkswagen announced sale of it's Xinijang factory in China partly because "demand for combustion engine vehicles is going down". Former member of Croatian parliament Ivan Pernar warned that due to overall financial situation Volkswagen might go bankrupt just as "too big to fail" heavily indebted Evergrande Group . He also questioned how will EU tariffs on Chinese cars save Volkswagen when 50% of its sales are in China itself and not in EU, as well as its manangment decision to exit Russian market. In 2016, Volkswagen Group announced
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#17327803053534526-429: Was 4th in the world championship 250cc (NSU) 5. John Surtees entered in the 1955 season. That year, he gained his first podiums on a Norton in 350cc in Germany and Ulster . He also won the round in 250cc while riding the best lap in the race for his only appearance at the handlebars of a NSU. John Surtees remains the only champion of the world in both motorcycle racing and Formula 1 . pilots: The first NSU cars were
4599-442: Was almost identical. Subsequent VW models shared no lineage with NSU models, being descended from Auto-Union designs. In the early 1970s, NSU manufactured a vertical-crankshaft small engine for use as a lawn mower power unit. A museum in Neckarsulm, the Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum , has many of NSU's products on display. Mike Hailwood raced in 1958 on Ducati , NSU, MV Agusta , Norton , Triumph , Paton and in 1958
4672-404: Was also built in Yugoslavia (by PRETIS), Argentina (by Autoar) and Egypt, under licence. In Uruguay, the Prinz 4 was built by Nordex S.A., and a new model, the P6, combined the engine and mechanics of the NSU model with a separate body completely redesigned by Carlos Sotomayor. From 1970, the P10 was built as the successor model to the NSU P6. This had the larger engine of the NSU Prince 1000 and
4745-610: Was based on transitioning to electric cars , and building a shared platform, battery systems, software and mobility solutions to use across all their brands. This involves creating the Scalable Systems Platform , as well as developing software under a new subsidiary called CARIAD . Volkswagen Group aims by 2024 to transition to selling mostly electric cars. It aims to have six battery factories in Europe by 2030. In 2023, Volkswagen Group announced plans to cut costs by €10 billion ($ 11.1 billion). In February 2024, Volkswagen Group and Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng signed
4818-463: Was designed by Ferdinand Porsche 's consulting firm, and the company was backed by the support of Adolf Hitler . On 16 September 1938, Gezuvor was renamed Volkswagenwerk GmbH ('Volkswagen Factory GmbH'). Shortly after the factory at Fallersleben was completed World War II started, and the plant primarily manufactured the military Kübelwagen (Porsche Type 82) and the related amphibious Schwimmwagen (Type 166), both of which were derived from
4891-401: Was fined billions of dollars. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is a public company and has a primary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange , where it is a constituent of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index , and secondary listings on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and SIX Swiss Exchange . It has been traded in the United States via American depositary receipts since 1988, currently on
4964-502: Was never the formal name of the Volkswagen Group. On 30 September 1982, Volkswagenwerk made its first step expanding outside Germany by signing a co-operation agreement with the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT, S.A. To reflect the company's increasing global diversification from its headquarters and main plant (the Volkswagenwerk in Wolfsburg ), on 4 July 1985, the company name was changed again—to Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (Volkswagen AG). On 18 June 1986, Volkswagen AG acquired
5037-404: Was operating a plant in Xinjiang at a loss in order to curry favor with the Chinese government to set up more lucrative plants in other parts of China, which Volkswagen denied, saying that the decision to set up the plant in 2012 was purely based on economics. Volkswagen is still operating a plant in the region as of 2020. In 2021, Volkswagen Group released their New Auto strategy. The strategy
5110-538: Was scheduled to take place during the course of 2011. On 8 September 2011, it was announced that the planned merger "cannot be implemented within the time frame provided for in the Comprehensive Agreement". As reasons, unquantifiable legal risks, including a criminal probe into the holding's former management team were given. Both parties "remain committed to the goal of creating an integrated automotive group with Porsche and are convinced that this will take place". On 4 July 2012 Volkswagen group announced they would wrap up
5183-422: Was slave labour. Many of the slaves were reported to have been supplied from the concentration camps upon request from plant managers. A lawsuit was filed in 1998 by survivors for restitution for the forced labour. Volkswagen would set up a voluntary restitution fund. After the war in Europe, in June 1945, Major Ivan Hirst of the British Army Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) took control of
5256-517: Was sold to Fiat , who used the plant to assemble Fiat models for the German market. From 1957, NSU-Fiat cars assumed the brand name Neckar . During World War II NSU produced the Kettenkrad , the NSU HK101, a half-tracked motorcycle with the engine of the Opel Olympia . They also made the 251 OSL motorcycle during the war. In December 1946, Das Auto reported the company had resumed
5329-481: Was the world's largest automaker by sales, and keeping this title in 2017, 2018, and 2019, selling 10.9 million vehicles and was the largest automaker by revenue in 2022. It has maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades. It ranked seventh in the 2020 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies. In 2023, Volkswagen Group was the largest company in the European Union and
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