I always thought it was Volkswagen Audi Gesellschaft however some people on another forum have said its Volkswagen Audi Gruppen. I couldn't find any info on the VW/Audi sites either
All wrong It stands for Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (as of 1985, prior to that it stood for Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft) Aktiengesellschaft is the German equivalent of 'incorporated' .. something like that.
I don't think Paradroid is wrong, VAG UK did stand for Volkswagen Audi Group. How do I know, I worked for them for 10 years.
I'm not doubting that VAG in Germany stands for Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft or Volkswagen Audi Gesellschaft. VAG in the UK stood for Volkswagen Audi Group.
From 1980 to 1995 the UK arm was named 'VAG (UK) Ltd.' Nowadays (since 1995) it's offically called 'Volkswagen Group UK Ltd'. And the AG bit undoubtedly means Aktiengesellschaft in the German reading of 'Volkswagen AG'. Hence Siemens AG, Bayer AG, Allianz AG, and all manner of other German corporations. Edited by: AndrewD
Oh well I suppose it could be one of a million things If they can't even get their name correct what hope have they got in creating a well built modern car
Not again thes seems to rear its head every 6 months, as mentioned above the confusion come from VAG being Volkswagen Audi Group in the UK and Volkswagen AG in Germany in Germany large companys are often AG or GMBH like PLC or INC over here.
A holy batman thread bump. This does get asked and before the whole VAG naming thing goes even more 'scene' here is some useful history behind initials and what they once meant and now mean.
This topic of what does VAG stand for is something I have been wanting to know. So, I picked up the phone and spoke with Volkswagen Group Press and PR in the Blakelands building in Milton Keynes. A very nice chap called Mike Orford, he advised that VAG has always stood for Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. The AG part of the abbreviation is a German word for a corporation limited by share ownership (i.e. is owned by its shareholders) and may be traded on a stock market. Furthermore, he advised that it is a common mistake for people to take VAG to be Volkswagen Audi Group as there is no such thing because Audi is a 99% fully owned subsidiary of Volkswagen (purchased by Volkswagen from Daimler in 1967 to acquire water-cooled technology). So, those of you who even worked at Volkswagen Group UK Limited, shame on you as this will have been clearly stated in your induction pack he further stated. So there you have it straight from the horse's mouth. Shame you didn't take heed of AndrewD's post as he was correct. Good work. Shame the truth is not accepted.