By Bizna Brand Analyst

This year, on May 28, 2017, the Volkswagen brand will be 80 years old. But do you know everything about the car brand?I bet you don’t. Here are some interesting facts about VW that I managed to dig out.

1.It was Hitler’s idea. 

Did you know that Volkswagen – or the ‘people’s car’ – was Adolf Hitler’s brainchild? In 1938, Hitler even had built an entire city just to house a Volkswagen factory and its workers. First known as “City of the [Kraft durch Freude] Car at Fallersleben,” it was renamed Wolfsburg on May 25, 1945. To this day, the city remains home to VW.

2. Volkswagen stopped making the popular beetle back in 2003. 

The original Beetle – known in Germany as ‘Der Käfer’ – ruled the list of the world’s best-selling car for much of the 20th century. By the time production was discontinued in 2003, more than 21.5 million Beetles had been sold worldwide.

3. It was designed by the father of the guy who designed Porche. 

Ferdinand Porche, and his son Ferdinand Porsche Jr., right, developed the vehicle that became the Volkswagen Beetle. Porche Jr. went on to design race cars, and prototypes were made from 1936 to 1939, before the onset of World War II, according to Volkswagen. Porsche Jr. later founded the car brand bearing his name.

4. Volkswagen now owns many car brands.

The company has come a long way since the 1930s. The Volkswagen Group’s garage currently fits 12 brands under its roof. Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche and Skoda are among its best-selling subsidiaries, accounting for 37 percent of 2014 sales.

5. It has failed to conquer the US market.

The coveted US market has proven to be a real thorn in the eye for the German carmaker. Just 6 percent of its cars – or some 600,000 – are sold abroad annually. Despite huge investments, its market share there has been stuck at about 2 percent, trailing far behind competitors like GM, Ford and Toyota.

6. They keep incredible production records, even for classic cars

Few companies have record keeping practices as thorough as Volkswagen’s. If you own a classic Volkswagen, you can apply to receive its birth certificate online at the Volkswagen website. Although it takes around eight months for Volkswagen to process requests, they can usually work out your car’s production information and provide useful information to give you more background knowledge on your car’s history.

If you don’t own a classic Volkswagen but would like to buy one, Volkswagen even provides data sheets on their classic vehicles that you can use to make an informed decision as a buyer.

7, During WW2, modified Beetles were used as military vehicles,

Although the civilian version of the Beetle didn’t enter mass production until after the Second World War was over, a military version was produced in large numbers during the war for use in campaigns in Russia, France and North Africa.

The Volkswagen Kübelwagen – a modified version of the Beetle designed for use in rugged terrain – was produced during the war for the German Army. It was viewed by the Allies as Germany’s equivalent to the Jeep.