December 27th marked the 60th anniversary of Volkswagen resuming production of the Beetle after WWII, effectively marking the date in 1945 that the company was reborn as a commercial carmaker.
4Car reports that British auto industry execs were invited to Wolfsburg after the war to consider producing the KdF-Wagen (the Beetle’s first name), but thought it funny looking and decided to stick with the small British cars of the day. Nonetheless, the Beetle played a major role in Germany’s post-war reconstruction, creating over 6,000 jobs in Wolfsburg alone and being used as specialty transportation for peacekeeping troops.
21,529,480 Beetles have been produced since 12/27/45, the last one rolling off the assembly line in July of 2003.
4Car reports that British auto industry execs were invited to Wolfsburg after the war to consider producing the KdF-Wagen (the Beetle’s first name), but thought it funny looking and decided to stick with the small British cars of the day. Nonetheless, the Beetle played a major role in Germany’s post-war reconstruction, creating over 6,000 jobs in Wolfsburg alone and being used as specialty transportation for peacekeeping troops.
21,529,480 Beetles have been produced since 12/27/45, the last one rolling off the assembly line in July of 2003.
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