Claim: Bentley markets sports cars.

Volkswagen AG -LRB- -LSB- ˈfɔlksˌvaːgən -RSB- -RRB- , known internationally as Volkswagen Group , is a German multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Wolfsburg , Lower Saxony , Germany . It designs , manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial vehicles , motorcycles , engines , and turbomachinery and offers related services including financing , leasing and fleet management . In 2016 , it was the world 's largest automaker , overtaking Toyota , but in 2017 , it is the world 's second largest automaker -LRB- behind Toyota -RRB- . It has maintained the largest market share in Europe for over two decades . It ranked seventh in the 2016 Fortune Global 500 list of the world 's largest companies .   Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the Audi , Bentley , Bugatti , Lamborghini , Porsche , SEAT , Škoda and Volkswagen marques ; motorcycles under the Ducati brand ; and commercial vehicles under the marques MAN , Scania , and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles . It is divided into two primary divisions , the Automotive Division and the Financial Services Division , and has approximately 340 subsidiary companies . VW also has two major joint-ventures in China -LRB- FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen -RRB- . The company has operations in approximately 150 countries and operates 100 production facilities across 27 countries .   Volkswagen was founded in 1937 to manufacture the car which would become known as the Beetle . The company 's production grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s , and in 1965 it acquired Auto Union , which subsequently produced the first post-war Audi models . Volkswagen launched a new generation of front-wheel drive vehicles in the 1970s , including the Passat , Polo and Golf ; the latter became its bestseller . Volkswagen acquired a controlling stake in SEAT in 1986 , making it the first non-German marque of the company , and acquired control of Škoda in 1994 , of Bentley , Lamborghini and Bugatti in 1998 , Scania in 2008 and of Ducati , MAN and Porsche in 2012 . The company 's operations in China have grown rapidly in the past decade with the country becoming its largest market .   Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is a public company and has a primary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange , where it is a constituent of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index , and secondary listings on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange , SIX Swiss Exchange . It has been traded in the United States via American depositary receipts since 1988 , currently on the OTC Marketplace . Volkswagen delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2013 . The state of Lower Saxony holds 12.7 % of the company 's shares , granting it 20 % of the voting rights . Volkswagen held a 19.9 % non-controlling shareholding in Suzuki between 2009 and 2015 . An international arbitration court ordered Volkswagen to sell the stake back to Suzuki . Suzuki paid $ 3.8 bn to complete the stock buy-back just hours prior to a major scandal about emissions violations engulfing Volkswagen .