Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into the global brand it is known as today post-World War II by the British Army officer Ivan Hirst, it is known for the iconic Beetle and serves as the flagship brand of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automotive manufacturer by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's biggest market is China, which delivers 40 percent of its sales and profits. Its name is derived from the German-language terms Volk and Wagen, translating to "people's car" when combined.
The Volkswagen Type 2 is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model. Known officially as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Volkswagen Station Wagon (US), Bus, Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), it was given the factory designation Type 2 as it followed – and was initially derived from – Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle).
The Volkswagen Gol is a subcompact car that was manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil from 1980 to 2023 as Volkswagen's entry-level car in the Latin American market—where it succeeded the Volkswagen Type 1 (Fusca) and the Volkswagen Brasilia. Several variants of the Gol-derived Voyage and Parati were marketed in North America as the Volkswagen Fox from 1987 to 1993.
Puma Automóveis Ltda. is a Brazilian manufacturer of sports cars. It was established in 1963 as Sociedade de Automóveis Lumimari, then became Puma Veículos e Motores the following year, and Puma Indústria de Veículos SA in 1974.
The Ford CHT engine is an inline four-cylinder internal combustion engine family produced by the Ford Motor Company in Brazil during the 1980s and 1990s. It was derived from the Renault Cléon-Fonte engine. It is unrelated to the similarly-named Ford CVH engine.
Resende is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The population is 132,312 in an area of 1094 km2. Resendense refers to people or things that come from or inhabit Resende. It is the oldest town in this region, which has boundaries with the state of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. It is an important industrial, automotive, metallurgical, and tourist center, and headquarters of the world's second-largest military complex, the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras (AMAN). Resende is of national importance and houses the Nuclear Fuel Factory complex of the "Indústrias Nucleares" of Brasil, the only one able to enrich uranium. Resende's automotive area holds MAN Latin America, the biggest truck and bus factory of Brazil, limited to PSA Peugeot Citroën and Michelin.
International Indústria Automotiva da América do Sul Ltda. is a Brazilian company specialised in the manufacturing of diesel engines for automotive applications. Until 2005, it was known as MWM Motores Diesel Ltda.
AutoLatina was a joint venture between Volkswagen Group subsidiary Volkswagen do Brasil (51%) and Ford Motor Company subsidiary Ford Brasil (49%) in South America. The main reason for the joint venture was the bad economic situation at the time, which made joint survival more attractive than an individual fight for a share in a dwindling market.
The Volkswagen Brasília is a rear-engined compact car developed by Volkswagen do Brasil and internally designated as the Type 321. Named for Brazil's capital city, the car was manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in Brazil from 1973 to 1982; in Mexico from 1975 to 1982; and built from knock down kits in Nigeria, where it was marketed as the Igala from 1976 to 1980.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is a German marque of light commercial vehicles, owned by Volkswagen Group. It is headquartered in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany. Originally part of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, it has operated as a separate marque since 1995.
The Volkswagen SP2 is a sports car that was developed by Volkswagen do Brasil and built from July 1972 until December 1975. It is based on the chassis of the Brazilian market Volkswagen Type 3. "SP" is said to be an initialism of São Paulo, where the car was built, or of "sports prototype". In its issue of 20 June 1973, German technology magazine Hobby called the SP2 the "most beautiful Volkswagen in the world".
Ford Brasil is the Brazilian subsidiary of American automaker Ford Motor Company, founded on April 24, 1919. The operation started out importing the Ford Model T cars and the Ford Model TT trucks in kit form from the United States for assembly in Brazil. The Ford brand, however, had already been present in the country since 1904 with both vehicles being sold in Brazil.
The history of ethanol fuel in Brazil dates from the 1970s and relates to Brazil's sugarcane-based ethanol fuel program, which allowed the country to become the world's second largest producer of ethanol, and the world's largest exporter. Several important political and technological developments led Brazil to become the world leader in the sustainable use of bioethanol, and a policy model for other developing countries in the tropical zone of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Government policies and technological advances also allowed the country to achieve a landmark in ethanol consumption, when ethanol retail sales surpassed 50% market share of the gasoline-powered vehicle fleet in early 2008. This level of ethanol fuel consumption had only been reached in Brazil once before, at the peak of the Pró-Álcool Program near the end of the 1980s.
Volkswagen Truck & Bus Indústria e Comércio de Veículos Ltda., formerly known as Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, is a Brazilian commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Resende, Brazil and a subsidiary of Traton. It manufactures heavy trucks and buses under the Volkswagen marque.
The Brazilian automotive industry is coordinated by the Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (Anfavea), created in 1956, which includes automakers with factories in Brazil. Anfavea is part of the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), based in Paris. In 2021, the annual production exceeded 2.2 million vehicles, the 8th largest in the world.
The São Paulo International Motor Show is the biggest and most important automotive event in Latin America. The São Paulo International Motor Show has been held in São Paulo, Brazil since 1960. Originally being held irregularly, it has been a biannual show since 1984. In 1990 the event became internationalized and the domestic industry showed its capacity for global competition.
Traton SE, known as the Traton Group, is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group and one of the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, with its MAN, Scania, Navistar, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus brands. The company also has digital services branded as RIO. In 2020, the group sold around 190,200 vehicles. The range of products includes light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, as well as vans and buses. As of December 31, 2020, Traton employed around 82,600 people in its commercial vehicle brands.
Volkswagen Group Argentina is the Argentine subsidiary of German automotive manufacturing company Volkswagen Group. It was established in 1980 when the company acquired defunct business Chrysler Fevre Argentina including its two plants in San Justo and Monte Chingolo.
Workers of the German auto manufacturer Volkswagen Group are collectively organized and represented across a variety of worker organizations including trade unions and Works Councils across the globe. Workers are organized on multiple levels; locally, regionally, nationally, internationally and by marque.
