After penning my previous blog on the Volkswagen scam in India, it interested me on the company’s roots. It sure is quite interesting too. The origins of the company date back to 1930s Nazi Germany. It was a pet project of Hitler and part of his economic reforms he brough about in post World war I hit Germany (I may be blogging on this very soon..). He wanted a car that every German could afford. He backed up his plans by means of a savings scheme, which around 336,000 people eventually paid into. What is great about this scheme was that Volkswagen honoured its savings agreements after World War II even after the massive collapse of the Nazi government which introduced the savings scheme.

Volkswagen literally translates as "people's car" in English.

After the Second World War in 1945, the British Army took control of the Volkswagen factory and restarted production. In 1948, the British Government handed the company back over to the German state.

For the records, Volkswagen is currently the third largest car-manufacturer in the world.

Labels: Noted