page_title: Wolfsburg AG
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Wolfsburg AG / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Forum AutoVision Luftbild in Wolfsburg
context_page_description: Wolfsburg AG is a German company headquartered in Wolfsburg. It was founded in 1999 with the goal of enhancing the attractiveness of the city of Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg AG implements the AutoVision concept, which Volkswagen gave the city on the occasion of its 60th birthday. It is a stock corporation under German law, in which the city of Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen Group have equal shares. Today, Wolfsburg AG is considered to be a prime example economic development in Germany. Its activities have contributed significantly to more than halving the unemployment rate of the city of Wolfsburg.
context_section_description: The city of Wolfsburg became a lot less attractive during the 1990s. The reason for this was the regional economic structure: about 85 percent of all employees belonged to the Volkswagen Group in 1995. Over 50 percent fewer people were working in the service sector compared to the national average. In addition, other German automotive industry locations had a considerably higher density of regional suppliers. The city of Wolfsburg was losing purchasing power in the realm of approximately 200 to 300 million euros per year. The city's tax revenues fell by almost a third in the wake of the Volkswagen crisis between 1991 and 1994. Observers later compared the situation to that of Detroit. In the course of the 1990s, the city of Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen Group finally agreed on the idea of working together to deal with the structural problems.
  This was the source of motivation for drawing up the AutoVision concept. The Volkswagen Group referred to it as a strategy to "establish an automotive cluster". It was created with the support of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company and included a wide range of ideas for enhancing the quality of life and competitiveness in Wolfsburg. One of the most important ideas was the establishment of an "adventure world" that would extend over the entire city. Measures in the field of economic development were intended to ensure a reduction in the dependence of the Wolfsburg region on the automotive industry, as well as the creation of new jobs especially in the service sector, thereby reducing unemployment. The city of Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen Group founded Wolfsburg AG in 1997 in order to put the AutoVision concept into practice.
  The company was created after the "GIZ Gründungs- und Innovationszentrum GmbH" limited company was converted into a stock corporation. The city of Wolfsburg and Volkswagen each hold a 50 percent share in Wolfsburg AG. In the beginning, the business operations of Wolfsburg AG covered four task areas: the InnovationsCampus, Supplier Park, Adventure World and PersonnelServiceAgency. While the InnovationsCampus promoted the creation of new businesses, the Supplier Park enabled additional suppliers from the automotive industry and related industries to become established in the region. The aim of the Adventure World idea was to provide quality leisure activities in the city of Wolfsburg in order to increase the city’s attractiveness, while giving the service sector a boost at the same time. The tasks of the Personnel Service Agency included taking care of recruitment (including temporary employment) and employee qualifications in particular.
caption: Forum AutoVision (aerial photography, 2013)
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