Volkswagen Industry And The German Labor Front

Comment [MLW1]: Great job, Bianca. With your permission I would like to use this as an example for future students. GRADE: 100%

In the early 1900’s there were very few car manufacturers in the United States and only the very wealthy owned a car. Henry Ford saw this as an opportunity to produce an affordable vehicle

The action has an effect on the loyal customers, suppliers and other stakeholders such as industrial transportation in the US/European economy that have been a pivot point in the value addition to the Volkswagen business.

This historical investigation is focused on two areas, firstly to what extent and impact did the great Nazi engineer Ferdinand Porsche had on Germany's effort to gain power throughout history. A critical analysis of the actions of Ferdinand Porsche and the Porsche company during the rise and fall of the Nazi empire during 1933 to 1945 in Germany and Europe will be looked at. Secondly, to what extent was Porsche’s products & engineering to blame for this fall. However the German economy had already bled out and could not survive even though they had the brilliance of Ferdinand Porsche and his engineering on their side. This historical investigation has found clearly that Ferdinand Porsche did indeed have a great impact on Germany’s efforts and

In 1993 Volkswagen had record low sales but by the end of 1997 the VW brand had sold 137,885 cars. That was an increase of 178% from it’s 1993 slump. It is safe to say that the the ’94 relaunch of VW on the American Market was a success. The “Drivers Wanted” campaign, developed by Arnold Communications, I believe was successful as a result of excellent market research and positioning.

World War II opened the doors for affordable vehicles for everyone. It all started with children’s toys and steam-powered vehicles that broke down every other day. Although breakdowns were frequent, cars were mass-produced. Because they were expensive, poorly designed, and there were no adequate roads to drive on, the first cars were simply a novelty. Once World War II began, companies stopped producing vehicles for the everyday driver and started

Cars were suppose to have a big impact on the United States of America. Towards the end of the 1800’s it was perfected in Germany and France by some men. Their names are Nicolaus Otto, gottlieb Daimler, Carl Benz, and Emile Levassor.

Jonathan Wiesen, in West German Industry and the Challenge of the Nazi Past, 1945-1955 (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2004), argues that after the Nazi regime fell in West Germany, industrialists were confronted with a need to reconstruct their public image in order to isolate themselves from their Nazi past both on domestic and foreign terms; doing this would allow them to aid with the rebuilding of West German society. Wiesen poses that industrialist use selective memory, a misconstrued version of victimization from the Allied policies and an American model of capitalism and public relations in order to reestablish a West German state that was desperately trying to detach itself from its Nazi legacy.

Critical Analysis of the sources indicates that Ferdinand Porsche had made a large impact on Germany 's efforts during World War 2. Due to his affiliation and close relation to Hitler he had been tasked with many engineering projects that had come to the aid of Germany’s military forces and perhaps had become the ‘economic miracle’ that Germany was in need of with his success of the VW beetle. By diving into the sources I have found that Porsche’s early stages began by supplying German troops with new aviation technology as well as tanks known as the Elefant. An interview conducted at Porsche Centre Johannesburg which is one of the largest centres in the world clearly back these sources. It was made clear to me by the interviewee that the roots of the Porsche company do indeed stem from a military and agricultural background. However Ferdinand Porsche also had a strong relationship with the USSR which seemed to cause some doubts. By reviewing the German Economy during World War 2 it was clear that Germany was in need of an economic miracle in order to save it as their economy had taken a large hit during the war. The sources clearly point that the success of the VW Beetle did indeed help to resurrect the economy but however the economy had already bled out by then. Therefore Mr Ferdinand Porsche and his company did indeed help Germany in the war and it could be stated that the war could have ended much earlier if his aid was not there. Why

Volkswagen wants to become a global and environmental leader in the automotive world and has developed the “Strategy 2018”. The “Strategy 2018” is stated in their latest annual report in the goals and strategies section as follows:

The automobile industry has influenced the US society in many aspects. The automotive production on commercial scale started in Europe in 1890’s. At this time, they were only able to produce a few numbers of cars in the market. When the automobile industry started in the US, cars were considered as toys for rich. From 1904 to 1908, about 241 auto-manufacturing firms went into business. One of these firms was Ford Motor Company, led by Henry Ford, which outpaced its competitors in a very short time. After Ford Model N success in the market, Henry Ford was encouraged to introduce his Model T car to the market; after several failed product lines. As a result of its durability and price, Henry Ford innovated one of the most important innovations

Germany in the mid 1930’s was a busy place. The Nazi party had successfully turned the country around and had made Germany an engineering and manufacturing center of Europe, businesses were growing, the economy was growing, and transportation was becoming a necessity for all German families. In 1933, Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler moved to make transportation easier, cheaper, reliable, and more available to the common German household. Adolf enlisted Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, a previously successful car designer, to build a car that had to be reliable and durable, all costing less than 1,000 German Marks. Adolf aspired for a “Volks-Wagen”, or “People’s-Car”, in English, that every German could afford, drive, and fix, all to maintain a self- sufficient

technology project. The BPTO produced weekly status reports and monthly budget reviews helping the company gauge where it was heading towards. Thus the alignment started advancing (Austin, 2007).

Well, throughout this case there was a sense of internal war between the executives of two of the world’s largest automobile companies. Wiedeking, the CEO of Porsche, can be seen as a dominating personality throughout this case. Wiedeking was famous for his efficient production and astute marketing, which turned Porsche into world’s most profitable car company. Therefore, keeping this same attitude in mind, he wanted to make some major changes in the Volkswagen group(VW) because he was aiming to achieve something big. He wanted to remove inefficient operations and also insisted on shutting down the production lines of some cars like ‘Phaeton’ and ‘Buggati’, which according to him were not highly profitable and were a commercial failure. On the other hand, Ferdinand Piech, the CEO of Volkswagen group, had something else in his mind. Unlike Wiedeking, who only focused

Based on the fact that in 2009, Volkswagen sold just 213,454 cars in the US, The Board felt the North American goal was unrealistic and unachievable. Instead of over-targeting a shrinking market, The Board felt in addition to targeting the Latino market within the United States, more focus should be shifted towards emerging markets in Asia.