From Beetle to Golf - How Volkswagen Overcame the Crisis of the 1970s

WOLFSBURG, GERMANY – June 2, 2009: The Corporate History Department of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is presenting an audiobook entitled “Mit dem Käfer zum Golf. Eine Reise durch 10 Jahre Volkswagen Geschichte.” (From Beetle to Golf. A journey through 10 years of Volkswagen history). The German-language double CD is a dramatized account of the period from 1967 to 1976 based on original documents from the Corporate Archives in Wolfsburg.

As the West German "economic miracle" drew to a close, Volkswagenwerk AG entered a critical phase of transition: the Beetle and Transporter were no longer selling well. The vital nerve of the Wolfsburg-based company had been hit. In a far-reaching transformation process, Volkswagenwerk AG realized a series of modernization measures which brought many changes for the company located on the "Mittellandkanal": a new model range tailored to customers’ needs in the shape of the Passat, Scirocco, Golf and Polo was created, as was an entirely new corporate culture which is still typical of the Wolfsburg-based group today. Listeners can follow the gripping story of events and are taken into the boardroom where the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management held the reins of power, making the decisions that put Volkswagen back on its feet. All the texts, such as speeches at Annual General Meetings, Supervisory Board or Board of Management meetings, minutes and works broadcasts are authentic and spoken by professional actors. Gilbert Holzgang (Theater Zeitraum Braunschweig) and the jazz pianist Jan-Heie Erchinger (Jazzkantine) worked on the dramatization, direction and production of the audiobook with a listening time of 2:33:08.

"This audiobook marks the continuation of our audio series designed to stimulate the interest of young people in particular in the more recent history of Volkswagen," Manfred Grieger, Head of the Corporate History Department at Volkswagen AG, commented. In the words of Michael Riffel, Head of the General and Group Works Council of Volkswagen AG, "this audiobook bears unique documentary witness to a deep crisis from which Volkswagen emerged as a learning organization with a distinctive culture of co-determination."