Volkswagen Volkswagen Volkswagen (), shortened to VW (), is a German automaker founded on 28 May 1937 by the German Labour Front under Adolf Hitler and headquartered in Wolfsburg. It is the flagship marque of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automaker by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's main market is in China, which delivers 40% of its sales and profits. "Volkswagen" literally in German means "folk's wagon" (so in basic terms "people's car"), and the company's current international advertising slogan is just "Volkswagen", a reference of the name's meaning. Volkswagen was originally established in 1932 by the German
Volkswagen Polo and the Audi A1. The first Polos were hatchbacks, with the sedan being marketed as the Volkswagen Derby. With the release of the Polo Mk2, the sedan was renamed the Volkswagen Polo Classic and the "conventional"-styled hatchback (with a sloping tailgate) was renamed as a coupé, the Volkswagen Polo Coupé. Unusually, the third (and new) body that was "actually" marketed as the Volkswagen Polo Hatchback was closer in concept to a small estate, albeit with exactly the same wheelbase and floor pan as the coupé instead of the (longer) sedan. This latter version, also known as the squareback (in the