Volkswagen holds the record for making one of the most iconic cars ever, the Volkswagen Beetle. But Beetle is not the only car by Volkswagen that sold in millions. Volkswagen Passat and Volkswagen Golf are other two cars in the top 10 list of best-selling cars of all time along with the Beetle. And Volkswagen is still making those cars.
VW History
Volkswagen Company was established back in 1946, but the roots of the company go back as far as 1936. The forces behind the Volkswagen concept wanted to make a car for the masses. Before Volkswagen, most cars assembled in Germany were luxury cars, made for the elite of the country. The labor union of Germany took the initiative and laid foundations for a car company that would produce ‘People’s Car. When Adolf Hitler took the charge of the country, he commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to come up with a cheap to maintain and cheap to run the car. Hitler had a goal in mind regarding the car. He ordered the production of a car that could carry two adults along with three children and run at 100 km/h without any issue. And that led to the production of VW Beetle that became a symbol of peace and antiwar activities all across North America in the 70s. The Volkswagen itself became an icon, representing West Germany’s economic regeneration after the Second World War. Later VW added Passat and VW Golf to its line as well.
Volkswagen in Pakistan
In the late 60s and until late 70s, the VW Beetle cars were sold him Pakistan as well. They were fan-favorite and were well liked. Volkswagen cars price in Pakistan at that time were competitive, and it was easier to import the cars. Many Pakistani Beetle owners actually drove the cars from all over the world to Pakistan. Nowadays, you can find several VW Beetle fan clubs in Pakistan. Owners and fans of the VW car come together on special events like PakWheels Auto Show to showcase their cars. And Beetle is not the only vehicle of that era that made its mark in Pakistan. You will find cars like VW Thing and the VW camper vans as well.
Rapid Auto Industry and VW
Recently, Volkswagen showed its interest in coming to Pakistan. Pakistani auto industry is flourishing rapidly and foreign automakers can see the vast potential. Officials from VW met officials of Pakistan government to discuss the interest and talk about the future plans. A Polo or Gold Volkswagen price in Pakistan if kept competitive could easily give tough time to current Japanese car makers. The story is still unfolding so right now we are just waiting for some verifiable news. But rumors are definitely positive, and we hope to see VW cars in Pakistan soon. Unfortunately for Volkswagen, they got embroiled in a scandal in the Q4 of 2015. Authorities in USA and Europe found that VW diesel cars have been sold with software that could cheat on annual emissions testing. Emissions are a big problem nowadays, and automakers are spending millions in coming up with new technologies to meet the governmental requirements regarding strict emissions control. VW, however, decided to find a shortcut and made a software that could tell if the car was being bench-tested. That software would then automatically reduce the power of the car, showing the tester that car is producing the legal amount of emissions. But when on the road, the car would make its full horsepower but exceeding the limits as well. It was feared that the US government would fine VW as much as USD 18 billion.
Summary
Whatever the case is with VW and its scandal currently, we hope they make their way to Pakistani industry as soon as possible.