Volkswagen Group has completed 7 recorded acquisitions and 0 divestitures or spin-offs, spanning 1966 to 2012.
| Date | Type | Assets | Counterparty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2012 | Merger | Porsche | — | €4.46bn |
| Jul 2012 | Acquisition | Ducati | — | €860m |
| Jul 1998 | Acquisition | Bentley | — | £430m |
| Jul 1998 | Acquisition | Lamborghini | — | $110m |
| Apr 1991 | Acquisition | Škoda | — | undisclosed |
| Jun 1986 | Acquisition | SEAT | — | undisclosed |
| Jan 1966 | Acquisition | Audi | — | undisclosed |
Volkswagen completed the takeover of Porsche's car business for €4.46 billion, ending an unusual sequence in which Porsche had first tried to take over the far larger Volkswagen, accumulated enormous debt attempting it, and failed.
Audi, itself part of Volkswagen Group, acquired Ducati for about EUR 860 million including debt. Ducati had started making radio components in 1926 and turned to motorcycles after its factory was bombed in the war, and its desmodromic valve system remains unique in production motorcycles.
Volkswagen bought Rolls-Royce Motors for about £430 million, acquiring the Crewe factory and the Bentley marque. BMW separately secured the Rolls-Royce name and badge from the aero-engine company, so the winner of the auction did not get the brand it had bid for.
Audi, itself part of Volkswagen Group, acquired Lamborghini from a Malaysian investment group for a reported $110 million. Lamborghini had changed hands repeatedly since its founder sold out in the 1970s and had never been stable under any owner.
Volkswagen bought into Skoda after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, taking an initial stake and full ownership over the following years. Skoda had been a byword for poor quality in Western Europe; it now regularly outscores its parent in reliability surveys.
Volkswagen took majority control of SEAT from the Spanish state, which had founded the company in 1950 and had it building Fiats under licence for decades. SEAT remains the only major carmaker designing and building cars in Spain. The price was not disclosed.
Volkswagen acquired Auto Union from Daimler-Benz in stages through the mid-1960s, and revived the Audi name that had been dormant since before the war. The four rings represent the four companies that merged to form Auto Union in 1932. Only the year is documented here.
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