What is the meaning behind “Volkswagen”?
The name Volkswagen derives from the German words Volk and Wagen, meaning ‘people’s car’. Folkswagen, as pronounced by Mr. Wolfsburg himself, or simply spoken out as Volkswagen with a strong ‘V’ intrinsically by most of us — is known for its sturdy and yet reputable image when it comes to building cars for the masses.
Is an Audi basically a Volkswagen?
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. Audi AG is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.The German trio Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are often referred to as Germany’s Big Three, although the actual major automobile manufacturers are the Volkswagen Group (majority owner of Audi AG), the Mercedes-Benz Group, and BMW.Bentley has been a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1998 and consolidated under VW’s premium brand arm Audi since 2022.
Is BMW under Volkswagen?
No. BMW is an independent company that owns MINI and Rolls-Royce, and is not part of VW Group. BMW is the namesake brand of the BMW Group, a German automaker also behind the Mini and Rolls-Royce. BMW Group relaunched Mini in 2001 and began Rolls-Royce production in early 2003.
Is Porsche 100% owned by VW?
Porsche and Volkswagen merged in 2011. At that time, Porsche was designated a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG (interestingly, besides being the Porsche parent company, VW also owns Audi, Bugatti, and Lamborghini). So, from that standpoint, Volkswagen AG is the company who owns Porsche. Porsche vehicles built in Zuffenhausen and Leipzig are in high demand all over the world, and represent a genuine dream for many automobile lovers. Since August 1, 2012 the high-performance brand has been operating under the umbrella of the Volkswagen Group.
Is Bentley owned by VW?
Located in Crewe, England and owned by Volkswagen AG since 1998, Bentley Motors remains the definitive British luxury car company, crafting the world’s most desirable high performance grand tourers. Bentley vehicles were produced jointly by Volkswagen and BMW between 1997 and 2003, but have been exclusively made by Volkswagen as part of its premium Audi division from 2003 to the present day.