This case study highlights various aspects of the marketing strategy followed by Volkswagen pertaining to advertising and sales promotion, pricing, segmenting, targeting and positioning at different points in time and in response to diverse circumstances. It also provides a broad perspective on the marketing situations and challenges faced by a global automobile major, and its tryst with successes and failures. The numerous examples quoted provide triggers for debate and discussion.

Volkswagen, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, is the world's fourth largest automobile manufacturing group and accounts for over 10% of the world's passenger car market. It is also the largest car maker in Europe. During the year 2008, Volkswagen sold 6.257 million vehicles and achieved a sales turnover of 113.8 bn euros.

The Volkswagen Group includes nine corporate brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Scania, SEAT and Skoda. The parent company, Volkswagen AG, markets a wide range of passenger cars and allied vehicles under several brands such as Fox, Polo, Golf, Jetta, New Beetle, Scirocco, Eos, Passat, Touareg, etc.

Volkswagen was founded in 1937 to sell the Volkswagen Beetle as a people's car. After the Second World War in 1945, Major Ivan Hirst of the British Army took charge of the bomb-shattered factory, and intended to dismantle it and ship it to Britain. However, British car manufacturers were not interested, and said that the vehicle did not meet the basic technical requirements for a motorcar. The company managed to survive by producing vehicles for the British Army, and the British Government handed the company back over to the German state in 1948.

Earlier, Volkswagen adopted a non-competitive marketing strategy, as it was a dominant player in the automobile market in Europe. However, with growing competition within Europe, and also given that Volkswagen is expanding globally, it has been continuously fine-tuning its approach to marketing, to suit the context. Numerous examples of marketing strategies adopted by Volkswagen from time to time and in different contexts are provided in the paragraphs that follow. Collectively, they are meant to provide a comprehensive insight into the marketing strategies adopted by a global automobile major, and also acquaint the reader with various situations and challenges faced.

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