Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, and since the late 2000s is a publicly-traded family business owned by Porsche SE, which in turn is half-owned but fully controlled by the Austrian-German Porsche and Piëch family.

Market cap: $44.91 bil. Volkswagen Group, major German automobile manufacturer, founded by the German government in 1937 to mass-produce a low-priced “people's car.” Headquarters are in Wolfsburg, Germany. The company was originally operated by the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront), a Nazi organization.

Established in 1946, Volkswagen is a German car manufacturer that is well-known for producing quality, stylish vehicles. Whether you're a Volkswagen fanatic or a first-time customer, you will likely find the history and development of the Volkswagen brand rather intriguing.