Volkswagen's defining moves.
The defining strategic moves at Volkswagen — each one explained and grounded in the record.
The Crisis Response · Crisis Response
VW Said It Was a Few Bad Engineers. Its Own Guilty Plea Says Management Ordered It.
Dieselgate is remembered as a rogue-engineer scandal exposed by the EPA in 2015. The truth: a defeat-device program that began around 2006, was flagged by researchers 16 months early, and ended in a criminal guilty plea saying management asked for it. Final bill: $33.3 billion.
8 min
The Reversal · Decision Forks
Volkswagen Never Went All-In on EVs. It Just Let You Think So.
After Dieselgate, VW was cast as the penitent giant betting everything on electric. But of its €180 billion plan, roughly one-third was always reserved for the combustion engine - and a CFO who said it 'will stay a third.' The pivot was a dual-track from day one.
8 min
The Adjacency Expansion · Adjacency & Expansion
Volkswagen's Brand Stable Looks Like a Master Plan. It Was a Series of Lucky Brawls.
From Škoda to Porsche to Bentley, VW owns one of the most complete brand portfolios in autos. But Porsche took until 2012 to fully fold in, and VW paid £430M for Rolls-Royce in 1998 and walked away without the name. The synergy is in the platform, not the plan.
8 min