© Gary Darkas 2012 © Gary Darkas 2012 CONTENTS Sections INTRODUCTION IDENTITY TYPE BRANDING WOLFSBURG EDITION TYPOGRAPHY CORPORATE INFORMATION KEYFRAME MOMENTS PRODUCTION PLANTS VOLKSWAGEN ADVERTISING KEY PRODUCTS REFERENCE © Gary Darkas 2012 INTRODUCTION VOLKSWAGEN HISTORY The History Of The VW 1936-2012 1936 The Birth Of A Company And Its Name he word “volkswagen” means Ferdinand Porsche to make changes T“people’s car.” The Volkswagen to Porsche’s original 1931 design to Aktiengesellschaft (VAG), also make it more suited for the working known as Volkswagen Group or as man. (Béla Barényi is credited with VW, is an automobile manufacturer having conceived the basic design and mobility organisation based in five years earlier.) Hans Ledwinka Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany discussed his ideas with Ferdinand and is the pioneer brand within the Porsche, who used many Tatra Volkswagen Group, which contains design features in the 1938 “KdF- the car brands Audi AG, Bentley Wagen”, later known as the VW Motors Ltd., Automobiles Bugatti Käfer-or Volkswagen Beetle. On 22 SA, Automobili Lamborghini, June 1934, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche SEAT, Škoda Auto and heavy agreed to create the “People’s Car” goods vehicle manufacturer Scania for Hitler’s mother. AB. The Supervisory Board of Prototypes of the car called the Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft “KdF-Wagen” (German: Kraft durch (VAG) has endorsed the creation Freude - “strength through joy”), of an integrated automotive group appeared from 1936 onwards (the with Porsche under the leadership of first cars had been produced in Volkswagen. Stuttgart. On 28 May 1937. Adolf Hitler had a keen interest in DR. FERDINAND PORSCHE cars even though he did not like to drive, as he was especially inspired by the American automotive giant Henry Ford, who Hitler referred to as Heinrich Ford. In 1933, shortly after taking over as leader of Germany, he teamed up with © Gary Darkas 2012 IDENTITY TYPE ENDORSED COMPANY olkswagen Group is a German multinational Vautomotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. It designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes passenger cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Volkswagen AG is the world’s largest motor vehicle manufacturer. By 2011 it’s unit sales have maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades. The company has operations in approximately 150 countries and operates 94 production facilities in 24 countries. Volkswagen AG holds a 19.9% non-controlling shareholding in Suzuki Motor Corporation. Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the • Audi • Bentley • Bugatti • Lamborghini • Porsche • SEAT • Skoda Motorbike Brand: • Ducati © Gary Darkas 2012 BRANDING VOLKSWAGEN LOGO 1939-2012 Logo Progress olkswagen logo is (a V over a W in a blue background, Vsurrounded by a circle). It’s origin is rather mundane though. The logo was the result of an office competition to see come up with a logo. The winner of the competition (who won 50 Marks for his troubles) was an engineer named Franz Reimspiess (the same man who perfected the engine for the Beetle in the 1930’s). VOLKSWAGEN LOGO IN 1939 BEFORE WORLD WAR II, THEY THIS LOGO WAS DESIGNED BY CHANGED THE LOGO A LITTLE A PORSCHE EMPLOYEE NAMED BIT BY REMOVING THE DESIGN FRANZ XAVIER REIMSPIESS. ELEMENT WHICH GAVE IT A PEDESTAL FAN LOOK. THEY STUCK TO THIS WHEEL LIKE CIRCLE WITH INITIALS ‘V’ AND ‘W’. AFTER THE WWII, BRITISHERS CURRENT VOLKSWAGEN LOGO DISPLAY VIEW OF THE VOLKSWAGEN TOOK OVER THE COMPANY. THEY REDESIGNED IN 2000 LOGO COVERING VARIOUS ANGLES RENAMED THE CAR AS BEETLE. THIS IS A FINE MODIFICATION OF THE DESIGN. THEY CHANGED THE LOGO, IN THE PREVIOUS LOGO. THE THOUGH NO MAJOR CHANGES MAJOR CHANGE THEY’VE DONE WERE MADE, HOWEVER, THEY IN THIS LOGO IS ITS COLOR. THE GOT RID OF THE DESIGN AROUND COLOR THEME HAS CHANGED THE CIRCLE WHICH SEEMS TO BE ALL TOGETHER FROM BLACK AND INSPIRED FROM THE NAZI FLAG. WHITE TO BLUE AND GREY. © Gary Darkas 2012 WOLFSBURG EDITION THE WOLFSBURG CREST Volkswagen Custom Editions There were 2 styles of the n the Volkswagen universe, the “Wolfsburg Edition” is a Wolfsburg crest used on the Islightly modified production version of a particular model of Beetle. The crest with the blue a car. Sometimes it is also called a “Wolfsburg Special Edition”, background was used on the The “Wolfsburg” obviously comes from the head Volkswagen Beetle from 1951-1959. facility being located in Wolfsburg, Germany. Wolfsburg Editions are a special custom making of a particular volkswagen vehicle.Any Wolfsburg Edition make, will be using the logo of the city. The crest with the black back- ground was used from 1960- 1962. The crest was discon- tinued on the 1963 model but was used on Volkswagen’s final Ultima Edicion Beetles pro- duced at the factory in Puebla, Mexico in 2003 © Gary Darkas 2012 TYPOGRAPHY VOLKSWAGEN TYPOGRAPHY Vag Rundschrift A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O VAG Rundschrift or VAG Rounded (Rundschrift is German P Q R S T U V W X Y Z for ‘round writing’) is a geometric sans-serif typeface that was designed as a corporate typographic representation for the a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Volkswagen motor manufacturer. It features rounded termini on all strokes. Volkswagen ended q r s t u v w x y z its use of the VAG Rounded family in the early 1990s, and it is widely available today and is licensed through Adobe Systems. FUTURA FONT FAMILY With many recent Web 2.0 startups, a clear trend in their new logos is the use of soft, rounded typefaces dominated by VAG Rounded, which is said to “lend a modern friendliness to A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R what might otherwise be a cold trademark” and, as of 2007, S T U V W X Y Z can be seen on T-Mobile USA literature. Apple Inc. has been utilizing the typeface on the keyboards of their line of notebook computers since 1999, with the release of the first-generation a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t iBook, and on their desktop keyboards since August 2007. u v w x y z Australian retailer Big W has changed their logo (previously in Helvetica Neue) to light blue VAG Rounded. Dick Smith, as part of the Woolworths Limited Group, also use this font in most of their advertising. Bankwest also use this font for their “Happy Banking Initiative”. As of Late 2006, Adecco also use the font in their publications and advertisements. VAG ROUNDED © Gary Darkas 2012 CORPORATE INFORMATION Wolfsburg is an urban district and the sixth largest major city in the Lower VOLKSWAGEN DATA BASE Saxony area in the northern half of Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig (Brunswick). Wolfsburg is bordered by the districts of Gifhorn and Helmstedt. Germany’s capital city, Berlin, is located Company Information about 230 kilometers East of Wolfsburg. The city is famous as the headquarters of the Volkswagen AG, and was Industry: Automotive one of the few German cities built during the first half of the 20th century. In 1972 the population first exceeded 100,000. From its foundation on 1 July 1938 until 25 May 1945 the city was called “Stadt des KdF-Wagens Founded: 28 May 1937 bei Fallersleben”. It was meant to be the domicile for the workers of the Volkswagen factory which should produce the “KdF-Wagen” (VW Beetle). Founder(s): Ferdinand Porsche VOLKSWAGEN FACTORY WITH ITS OWN POWER STATION Headquarters: Wolfsburg, Germany Area served: Worldwide Key people: • Martin Winterkorn: Chairman of the Board of Management, • Ferdinand Piëch: Chairman of Volkswagen Supervisory Board Products: Cars Production output: 4,591,851 units (2010) Revenue: €80.251 billion (2010) (US$119 billion USD) Employees: 368,500 (2009) Parent: Volkswagen Group Website: www.volkswagen.com © Gary Darkas 2012 KEYFRAME MOMENTS VOLKSWAGEN HISTORICAL PROGRESS Time Line •1933 - 1939 •1955 Adolf Hitler approves Ferdinand Porsche’s design for the “people’s car,” Volkswagen Group of America is formed to standardize service and sales or volkswagen. A town called Stadt des KdF-Wagens, now Wolfsburg, is in the United States. Production of the Type 1 Beetle increases drastically, established for factory workers in 1938. Full-scale production is planned reaching 1 million units. for September 1939, but war intervenes. •1959 De luxe Sedan •1939 - 1945 Sales soar as the witty “Think Small” ad campaign by Doyle Dane During World War II, the Volkswagen plant is primarily used to Bernbach lures sophisticated (and younger) consumers. produce military vehicles, including the SUV-like Kübelwagen and the amphibious Schwimmwagen. By 1943, more than 12,000 prisoners of war •1968 are working at the factory, most of them repairing aircraft and building V1 rockets to bomb Britain. Disney releases the first Love Bug film about Herbie, a VW Beetle with a mind of its own. •1945 - 1947 Karmann Ghia •1969 Stadt des KdF-Wagens is bombed, captured by U.S. forces in 1945, and then handed over to the British. Major Ivan Hirst paints a Volkswagen Volkswagen merges two previous purchases -- Auto Union, owner of green and shows it to British officials. They order 20,000. American, the discontinued Audi brand, and NSU Motorenwerke -- to create the British, and French motor companies decline to take over the plant. modern-day Audi, the company’s luxury brand. •1948 •1972 Micro Station Wagon Volkswagen, reorganized as a trust under West German control, On February 17, the 15,007,034th Type 1 Beetle is made, surpassing the introduces the Volkswagen Type 2 van, pickup, and camper, and the Ford Model T as the most produced single model in history.