In 1937 the company known as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH was founded by the trade union, the German Labour Front and would one day become Europe's largest carmaker, Volkswagen AG. In 1938 it is renamed Volkswagenwerk GmbH. In early 1938, in what is today Wolfsburg, work begins on construction of the Volkswagenwerk plant which is to house production of the new vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche. A handful of Beetles are produced specifically for civilians during the years 1940 to 1945, however since production numbers are small, the vehicles end up in the hands of the Nazi elite. With the end of WWII in sight by June 1945, mass production of the Volkswagen Beetle is started. The name Volkswagen  means literally, "people's car" in German. Officially called the Volkswagen Type 1,  the economy car will see continuous production from 1938 until 2003. The Beetle Cabriolet began production in 1949 when Wilhelm Karmann bought a VW Beetle and converted it into a four-seated convertible. After successfully presenting it at VW in Wolfsburg, production started in 1949. Production would see 331,847 cabriolet units manufactured up until January 1980.

In March 1950, the Type 2 commercial van goes into production and the Volkswagen Bus Transporter gains a foothold in the market thanks to its multifunctional capabilities. Production of the one millionth Volkswagen Beetle is achieved in 1955 and celebrated to much fanfare in Wolfsburg, Germany. On February 17th, 1972 Volkswagen breaks the world car production record with 15,007,034 units assembled and the VW Beetle surpasses the legendary mark achieved by the Ford Motor Company's Model T. The Fastback and Squareback models Type 3 see production start in 1961. The Volkswagen 181 Thing - Safari model is introduced in 1969 and runs until 1983. The Rabbit, Golf, Dasher and Scirocco nameplates all see introduction in 1975. The Jetta / Fox sees production in 1979 and the Passant sedan and wagon models are introduced in 1988.

By 2003, with over 21 million units manufactured, the air-cooled,  rear-engined, rear-wheel drive configuration Beetle is the longest-running, most-manufactured car of a single design platform anywhere in the world. Citing decreasing demand, the final original Type 1 VW Beetle No. #21,529,464 rolled off the production line at Puebla, Mexico on 30 July 2003 – 65 years after its original launch. This last Beetle was delivered to the company's museum in Wolfsburg, Germany. But you simply can't keep a good design down. While the Type 1 was to see end of production in 2003, the company developed the New Beetle, a compact car with front wheel drive and front mounted engine with rear luggage compartment. The New Beetle was introduced in 1998 based on the Concept One car developed in 1994 in California. In 2012, the next generation Beetle is introduced, simply called the Volkswagen Beetle.

1967 VW Beetle Squareback Bus

1968 VW Beetle Air Conditioning