Company Overview

Volkswagen AG (VW) is the king of kitsch as well as the number-one car manufacturer in Europe. In the United States, Volkswagen of America Inc.'s newly designed Beetle is revisiting the cult status that the older version enjoyed 30 years ago. As recently as 1993, the company was showing losses of more than $1 billion and a decreased share of the automobile market. It has since rebounded by producing more cars that target a middle-class audience while still enjoying success with its luxury lines. VW has cut costs by moving to a production strategy that involves sharing 11 major parts among several classes of vehicles. VW, which has plants in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Africa, moved into the heavy commercial vehicle sector with its purchase of 34 percent of Swedish truck maker Scania in 2000. In the United States, the company debuted its next-generation Golf in 2006, and the retro-styled VW Microbus arrived in 2007. To maintain its market share, VW planned to spend $6 billion to double production in China by 2008. The company also vowed to save $8.4 billion from VW's operations and introduce 10 new, low-price models by 2010, in an attempt to bounce back from a less than stellar year.