June, 2005 - Nr. 6
Volkswagen marks 100 million milestone
TWIG - The 100th million Volkswagen, a silver Touran van, rolled off the automaker’s Wolfsburg assembly line Tuesday, marking the latest milestone for a company that rose to fame for its distinctive Beetle.
Until now, Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet were the only brands to have produced 100 million vehicles or more, a Volkswagen spokesperson said.
"It was above all our employees, but also the global reach of our production facilities, that made this success possible," said Reinhard Jung, the carmaker’s production chief.
Today, Volkswagen produces 41 different models at facilities in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Slovakia, Poland, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and China. Last year, it delivered nearly 3.1 million vehicles to customers in 150 countries around the world.
All that is a far cry from the carmaker’s humble first steps into mass production after World War II.
In 1945, Volkswagen produced just 1,800 Beetles. In little more than five years’ time however, the carmaker had become a global icon of affordable mobility for the growing middle class — enough so that Volkswagen saw its 100,000th vehicle roll of the assembly line in 1950.
All told, Volkswagen produced some 21.5 million Beetles. It
also has made 23 million Golf hatchbacks, 13 million Passat sedans and 9
million Polo compacts.
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