Every year, the Volkswagen Group is a top contender for the title of

world's largest automaker.

The group owns not only the Volkswagen brand for which it is named,

but eleven other brands.

Hailing from seven European countries, the group sells cars,

commercial vehicles and even motorcycles.

It operates 133 manufacturing plants around the world and sells cars

in 153 countries.

Now this behemoth is trying to forge a new future for itself by going

electric. Just years after its executives perpetrated what might be

one of the worst examples of corporate malfeasance in automotive

history, the American people, the EPA and their counterparts around

the world have been defrauded by Volkswagen.

Opinions are divided as to how wise Volkswagen's bet on electric is,

given that electric cars represent only a tiny share of the global

car market and face massive infrastructural challenges.

However, its sheer size and presence across such a broad range of

vehicles do suggest that if any traditional automaker has a shot at

going all in on electric Volkswagen, is it?

Volkswagen's origins can be traced to the engineer Ferdinand Porsche.

He spearheaded the creation of what may still be the company's most

iconic car, the type one better known to the world as the Volkswagen

Beetle. Of course, this legendary car had a dark beginning.

It was created at the behest of Adolf Hitler, who wanted an

affordable vehicle that could encourage the widespread adoption of

cars in Germany.

As Hitler sought to build the fascist utopia he had imagined in the

years following World War 2, the company rebuilt itself and began

exporting its beetle first to the rest of Europe and eventually

around the world. In 1959, seven hundred thousand Americans buy

foreign cars in this one year.

The car became one of the best selling vehicles of all time with one

of the longest production runs in automotive history.

It also became an icon be loved by a wide range of buyers around the

world. Some customers, particularly in America, appreciated the cars

engineering relatively small size and superior efficiency to the

large sedans Detroit automakers were churning out in the postwar

period. But in the 1970s, the beetle began to face tougher

competition from cars with new designs that offered more interior

room and trunk space.

The Beetle also struggled to meet emerging fuel economy and safety

standards taking hold in the U.S..

So in the mid 1970s, VW began introducing new vehicles, some of which

it continues to sell today.

Two notable examples are the Passat sedan and the golf compact

hatchback. The golf initially sold as the rabbit in the U.S.

went on to be another extremely popular car for Volkswagen.

The automaker has sold more than 35 million golfs since 1974, which

Volkswagen notes works out to one golf sold every 41 seconds for the

1976 model year.

The automaker released a version of the golf called the GPI, which

became something of a legend in its own right.

The GDI is commonly thought of as one of the world's first so-called

hot hatches and is often credited with creating the category that now

includes countless competitors.

Here was a small economical car with a powerful engine that became

popular with enthusiasts and in racing, increasingly faced with

competition from low priced and highly reliable cars from Japanese

manufacturers. The Volkswagen brand distinguished itself as a

relatively affordable brand with a German pedigree and technical

excellence. But over time, Volkswagen went from being a brand to an

automotive empire.

The company now owns a large stable of names that operate in markets

all over the world and sell cars at every price point from the very

low end to almost unbelievably expensive super cars costing several

million dollars.

Some brands such as Porsche were developed by Volkswagen or by

members of its founding Porsche and Peak Families.

Many others were acquired, such as Audi, Lamborghini, Bugatti and

Bentley. Key to managing such a vast and diverse empire has been

Volkswagen's ability to design very flexible platforms that can be

used across such a wide range of vehicles.

What's happened in the more recent years?

It's really contributed to their not just growth, but their cost

effectiveness is these new platforms, these global platforms that

they've created where they can build so many vehicles, not just for

one or two, but for many of their brands off of a starting point.

That's the exact same between the front wheel hub and about the

dashboard or firewall is the vehicle.

The company delivered ten point eighty three million vehicles around

the world in 2018, including heavy commercial trucks.

That makes it the biggest seller of light and heavy vehicles

combined. By comparison, the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance sold

ten point seventy six million and Toyota Motor sold ten point five

nine million. Volkswagen has been especially successful in China, the

world's largest auto market.

It had about 13 percent of the Chinese market in 2018 and sold more

units than any other automaker, including Honda, Toyota and the

Chinese company Gili.

But the United States has often been a weaker market for Volkswagen.

Part of the reason why they haven't been as strong in the U.S.

is they haven't really penetrated the pickup truck segment.

They've looked at notable examples from Japanese OEMs who have tried

and failed. Also, VW Group is really strong on the coasts.

They aren't really in the heartland of the U.S.

in 2018.

Volkswagen's share of the global car market was twelve point three

percent. But the company had three point seven percent of the U.S.

market. That's not just for the Volkswagen brand either.

It includes Porsche, Audi and everything else.

Frustrated with its small share in the country, Volkswagen said in

2007 it was stepping up its efforts and plan to sell 800000 vehicles

a year in the U.S.

by 2018.

But it fell far short of that goal in 2018.

The company sold just three hundred fifty four thousand sixty four

units in the U.S..

Now the automaker is pushing more heavily into sport utility vehicles

which stand to improve its fortunes in the United States.

If current trends continue.

But the company's history has been a story of wild swings between

popularity and obscurity.

Volkswagen is fascinating because they've had this kind of ongoing

cycle in the U.S.

where they do really well and they're kind of dominant, like with the

beetle. And then, you know, they start shrinking and market share and

they're having trouble competing.

And it looks like maybe they're even going to leave the market

entirely. And then they decide to recommit and they come back in and

they go all in on the U.S.

and then they kind of build the brand again and it starts to

accelerate and they kind of have another contraction.

I mean, that's what happened with the diesel gate issue.

You know, five, six years ago.

It's never dull with Volkswagen.

They don't they definitely not had a consistent experience in the

U.S. market over the last 50 years.

Volkswagen did distinguish itself in the U.S.

market by being one of the only automakers to commit to passenger

cars that run on diesel fuel.

Historically, diesel has been far more common in Europe, where it was

long supported by government incentives.

But light vehicles that run on diesel are unusual in the United

States. Diesel power trains have long been considered more fuel

efficient than their gasoline counterparts.

And Volkswagen marketed its diesel engines as a smarter, economical

and environmental choice.

But its promotion of diesel eventually blew up in the company's face

and led to the greatest scandal in Volkswagen's history in 2015.

Revelations began to surface that Volkswagen had devised technology

to cheat on U.S.

fuel emissions tests.

The company had installed devices that were designed to detect when

the cars were being tested for fuel efficiency and alter the engines

performance during tests.

The engine would be tuned to boost fuel economy and meet U.S.

government standards. But in real world conditions, the engine would

revert to its default setting, which sacrificed the required fuel

economy for better performance.

Volkswagen pleaded guilty to charges of fraud in the United States

and had to pay out more than 30 billion dollars in fines and other

costs. Volkswagen has admitted guilt to federal criminal charges, and

that includes charges of obstruction of justice and is paying a four

point three billion dollar fine in the emissions cheating scandal.

Top executives resigned, including CEO Martin Winterkorn, who stepped

down in September of 2015.

The company is still reeling from the fallout.

Winter corn and four other top Volkswagen executives were charged

with fraud in Germany in April of 2019.

But industry observers say that some good has come out of the scandal

for Volkswagen. The sheer financial burden of the ordeal forced the

automaker to cut costs and streamline its manufacturing and

operations, which ended up improving profitability.

It also pushed the company to more fully embrace the growing movement

toward electrification, something Volkswagen was less eager to do

earlier when it was so invested in diesel.

It also spurred the creation of the Electrify America project, which

is investing two billion dollars in electric vehicle charging

infrastructure and other programs across the United States.

In addition, it led Volkswagen to throw its weight behind electric

cars, which many in the industry say improves the chances for

electric cars to gain more traction overall in the automotive market.

The company said in 2019 that it plans to sell 22 million electric

vehicles by 2030.

It has already been showing off high profile examples of its electric

future. The idea Krause is a crossover vehicle.

Volkswagen will manufacturer in 2022.

Also expected in 2022 is a production version of the I.D.

Buzz concept, a reworking of VW s classic bus with an electric motor.

Porsche is also getting into the act.

The Porsche taken is an electric sports car.

The company is unveiling in 2019 as of July.

Porsche said it had already more than 30000 reservations for the car

and the company doubled its first year production target from 20000

cars to 40000.

The taken is regarded as a potentially powerful challenger to Tesla's

performance oriented electric cars, which have dominated the high end

electric car market.

Getting an automaker as massive and varied as the Volkswagen Group

behind electric cars could provide the catalyst needed to make them

truly mainstream alternatives to gasoline vehicles.

Still, many in the industry express skepticism that most customers

are as ready to go electric as some automakers are.

A lot of investors and the street is somewhat negative on this,

especially in Europe.

They believe they're going to be fines, CO2 related fines.

This VW is going to have to pay.

They're not sure of the consumer demand for a visa.

And they think that they're going to have to sell these these at a

loss. Time will tell whether the bet secures Volkswagen's future.

But if it works out, the German automaker's worst scandal could be

remembered as the ordeal that made VW even more powerful.