Motor Museum / Manufacturers / Volkswagen

Manufacturer history

Volkswagen

—manufacturer era begins

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0featured cars

44published models

Origins

How the company began.

The founder story explains why the later cars took the form they did.

Manufacturer history

Volkswagen through time.

Read the company as a sequence of engineering, design and business decisions.

Museum catalogue

Every model gets a plaque.

An image on the right, a concise interpretation on the left and a clear statement of why the car belongs in the chronology. Missing images fall back gracefully until you upload the WebP.

1930s

1 model

1938–2019Passenger Car

Beetle

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue + historical curatorial range.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Beetle

1970s

3 models

1973–2022Passenger Car

Passat

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue + historical curatorial range.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Passat

1974–2021Passenger Car

Golf

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue + historical curatorial range.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Golf

1974–1992Passenger Car

Scirocco

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. Historical curatorial starter.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Scirocco

1990s

14 models

1992–1993Passenger Car

Cabriolet

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Cabriolet

1992–1994Passenger Car

Corrado

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Corrado

1992–1993Passenger Car

Fox

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Fox

1992–2014Passenger Car

GTI

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen GTI

1992–2024Passenger Car

Jetta

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Jetta

1993–2003Passenger Car

Eurovan

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Eurovan

1993–1995Passenger Car

Golf III

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Golf III

1993–1995Passenger Car

Jetta III

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Jetta III

1995–2002Passenger Car

Cabrio

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Cabrio

1998–2010Passenger Car

New Beetle

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen New Beetle

1999Passenger Car

Cabrio (New)

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Cabrio (New)

1999Passenger Car

Golf (New)

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Golf (New)

1999Passenger Car

GTI (New)

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen GTI (New)

1999–2005Passenger Car

Jetta (New)

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Jetta (New)

2000s

11 models

2001Passenger Car

Passat (New)

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Passat (New)

2004–2006Passenger Car

Phaeton

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Phaeton

2004–2008Passenger Car

R32

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen R32

2004–2017Passenger Car

Touareg

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Touareg

2006–2009Passenger Car

Rabbit

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Rabbit

2007–2016Passenger Car

Eos

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Eos

2008–2009Passenger Car

GLI

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen GLI

2008–2009Passenger Car

Touareg 2

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Touareg 2

2009–2017Passenger Car

CC

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen CC

2009–2014Passenger Car

Routan

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Routan

2009–2024Passenger Car

Tiguan

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Tiguan

2010s

10 models

2012–2014Passenger Car

Jetta SportWagen

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen

2015–2019Passenger Car

e-Golf

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen e-Golf

2015–2024Passenger Car

Golf GTI

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Golf GTI

2015–2024Passenger Car

Golf R

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Golf R

2015–2019Passenger Car

Golf SportWagen

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Golf SportWagen

2017–2019Passenger Car

Golf Alltrack

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Golf Alltrack

2017–2018Passenger Car

Tiguan Limited

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Tiguan Limited

2018–2024Passenger Car

Atlas

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Atlas

2019–2023Passenger Car

Arteon

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Arteon

2019–2024Passenger Car

Jetta GLI

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Jetta GLI

2020s

5 models

2020–2024Passenger Car

Atlas Cross Sport

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

2021–2023Passenger Car

ID.4

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen ID.4

2022–2024Passenger Car

Taos

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen Taos

2025Passenger Car

ID.7

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen ID.7

2025Passenger Car

ID.Buzz

Discovery Timeline model-nameplate record. US catalogue observation.

Why it matters: This model forms part of the manufacturer’s evolving road-car chronology.

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Volkswagen ID.Buzz