VW NotchbackThe Volkswagen Type 3 was introduced in 1961 and here we see at least two Notchbacks with their older siblings, the Type 1 Beetle. All new from the factory on double deck train cars in the early 1960s

1968 VW BeetleCompleted bodies - many painted in dark Cobalt Blue - move off to the Final Assembly hall in this photo from around 1968/69

Volkswagen Finland60 years ago: Volkswagen 50,000 for Finland outside the Stockmann department store on Aleksanterinkatu in Helsinki at the end of November 1964

Type 2 KombiA Type 2 Kombi enters the drying booth in the paint shop at the Anchieta factory of Volkswagen do Brasil

Puebla VW FactoryDipping a bare metal bodyshell of a 'Vocho' at the Puebla plant of Volkswagen de Mexico in 2003 during the final months of production

VW 1303 roof panelsThis split-window Beetle bodyshell looks like it is smiling as it waits for the painting crew to start spraying in this photo from the paint shop at the Wolfsburg factory around 1948

1VWs at seaMV Bremer Banken, headed for Landskrona, Sweden, dated October 1961. This was the first ship with Volkswagens headed for the town of Landskrona

Wolfsburg Motor WorksFinal assembly at Wolfsburg. A 1962 model Beetle in Ruby Red nears completion towards the end of the line

VW SchwimmwagenA Schwimmwagen undergoing testing in the Max-Eyth-See in Stuttgart

VW factory line workerA casually dressed line worker on the body fitting out line at Wolfsburg cleans the newly fitted glass before the body heads off to the final assembly hall

VW Karmann Ghia 1962Karmann Ghia number 100 to be produced by Karmann Ghia do Brasil was produced at their huge factory in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, in August 1962

VW WestfaliaA Deutsche Bundesbahn V200-Class diesel-hydraulic locomotive heads a block train of new Type 2 campers from the Westfalia factory in Wiedenbrück sometime in the mid 1970s

VW ThingWolfsburg, 11 August 1970. A freshly painted green Volkswagen Type 181 on the line. Known as Trekker (UK), Safari (Mexico) or Thing (USA)

VW Split Window BugOn the paint line, spraying the colour onto a split-window deluxe bodyshell with sunroof at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg, 1952

Das Volkswagenwerk uun wir"Das Volkswagenwerk uun wir" - The Volkswagen factory and us. The debut issue of the factory journal of the Volkswagenwerk GmbH, dated April 1942

VW 1303 roof panelsVW 1303 roof panels emerge from huge presses that have stamped out the front and rear window apertures in the press shop at the Wolfsburg plant

1966 Volkswagens at portA large consignment of North American-specification Volkswagens at an unknown port during 1966. While most of the cars are Type 1, 2 and 3, there are a handful of Karmann Ghia VW Type 14 and 34 models too

Wolfsburg Motor WorksCompleted Volkswagens reach the end of the line in the final assembly hall at Wolfsburg Motor Works, as the factory was known under British Army management, sometime in 1948 or 1949

1968 VW BeetleHeadlamp beam alignment check in the final assembly hall at Wolfsburg during the 1968 model year

VW Type 2 assemblyType 2 final assembly at the Volkswagen Transporterwerk in Hannover

VWs waiting at portNew air-cooled Volkswagens waiting for export to Canada at the German port of Emden in 1971. The two brightly coloured Beetles painted in "Hippie Green" and "Poplila Lilac". These were special edition "Pop Beetles" that were produced to test the market for the popularity of brighter colours

VW TransportersDriverless Transporters move slowly and silently down the long automated conveyor exit ramp from the final assembly hall at Volkswagenwerk Hannover

VW KDF WagenThe first final shape Kdf Wagens body were hand-produced at Reutter Stuttgart because the Wolfsburg factory was not yet built

VW Type 145A bodyshell in primer of a Karmann Ghia TC coupé (Volkswagen Type 145) is moved at the Karmann Ghia do Brasil plant in São Bernardo do Campo in São Paulo

OEM VW PartsFenders and other body panels as far as the eye can see, stored in a hall at Volkswagen's Wolfsburg plant

First VW Kafer productionThe first production cars finally came off the line and shown to the press on July 11, 1941. However, it was not series production in the true sense as the cars were largely made by hand

VW Split Window Sunroof BeetleVolkswagen employees make their way along Südstraße at the Wolfsburg plant in July 1951 with a new split-window sunroof model parked opposite Sektor 11

Kubelwagen and KDF WagenKubelwagens and Kdf wagens at Wolfsburg in winter 1943

100,000th BeetleThe 100,000th Volkswagen export car, August 1952. The car was exported from Wolfsburg to the Netherlands and allocated by VW importer Pon to the Hoogenboom dealer group

VW ZwitterWet sanding of Beetle 'Zwitter' models at Wolfsburg, taken sometime between October 1952 and March 1953

Type 34 Karamnn GhiaVolkswagen Type 34 Karmann Ghia body assembly line at Wilhelm Karmann in Osnabrück in the 1960s

Football legend Pele in a BeetleFor Volkswagen and many Wolfsburgers, the date of June 3, 1961, is one that has gone down in history: The late, great, football legend Pelé was a guest in the city and Wolfsburg plant and a major sporting event was about to take place on the Mittelland Canal, made possible by the former Volkswagenwerk GmbH

VW do Brasil productionFusca assembly line at the Anchieta factory of Volkswagen do Brasil, around 1975. The car in the photo is a 1300 version painted in Amarelo Safari (Safari Yellow)

VW flat four engineEngine assembly line in Hall 4 of Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg on 26 May 1959

the 100,000th BeetleVolkswagen number 100,000 for the USA leaves final assembly Hall 12 on the automated conveyor ramp at the rear (north side) of the Wolfsburg plant in June 1957

Type 3 FastbackVolkswagen Inspectors examine a Type 3 VW 1600 Fastback bodyshell fresh from the paint line at the Wolfsburg plant

Oval Window BeetleHere we see the most critical process of the build, the joining of the completed oval-window body to the completed chassis and drivetrain, known as the Hochzeit (wedding, or marriage)

VW Fire Department AmbulanceAn early ambulance of the fire department at the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg around 1946 or 1947

Razor Edge Ghia productionKarmann plant final painting area

VW Plant Worker 1953Pumping a few litres of fuel into the tank on a newly completed Volkswagen at the end of the line in the final assembly hall at Wolfsburg in the summer of 1953. The car can now be driven for the first time to the test stand for final checks

Volkswagenwerk WolfsburgBodies-in-white move through a hall at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg sometime between April 1954 and 1 August 1955

Karmann Ghia ConvertibleVolkswagen Karmann Ghia bodies at the Wilhelm Karmann factory in Osnabrück in the late 1950s

Volkswagen ShipNew Volkswagens from Puebla embark a roll-on roll-off ship at Veracruz, Mexico, bound for Emden, Germany, around 1979/80. The huge banner reads, "Volkswagen de Mexico continues with its vehicle export programme to Europe"

VW VariantLine workers deburring and grinding the bare metal bodyshell of a VW Type 3 Variant at the Wolfsburg plant prior to dipping and painting

VW Wolfsburg PlantBody fitting out and trim lines at the Wolfsburg plant in 1964. What we see here are two lines dedicated to models destined for the US market. Note that the car in the foreground on the belt has a UN export code in the windshield, meaning United States, New York. All the cars have 'towel rail' bumper overriders and headlamps ready to receive sealed beam units at the selling dealer

Vintage VW PostcardA period postcard from the late 1950s showing scenes of the 'Volkswagen city'. At the top left is a photo of the VW factory on the Mittelland Canal and centre-right is the VW-Bad (swimming pool) which was gifted to the city by Volkswagen in 1951

VW VarientLines of new split-window Volkswagens sparkle in the sunshine as they await onward shipment in the new vehicle holding yard at the western end of Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg in 1951

1972 VW BeetleNorth-American specification 1972 model year Beetles at an unknown holding yard awaiting onward transit and delivery to lucky customers

Volkswagen do Brasil Fusca assembly lines at the Anchieta plant of Volkswagen do Brasil in the city of São Bernardo do campo, SP, sometime between 1965 and 1967

1962 VW Plant WorkersQuinto Provenziani (on the right in the first photo) wet sanding the primer coat on a Beetle bodyshell with two of his colleagues at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg. He was one of the first batch of 'guest worker' employees from Italy arriving in early 1962 at the invitation of VW for a new life in Germany. 62 years on, and at the age of 82, Quinto is long retired, but still lives in Wolfsburg with his German wife Monica and has children and grandchildren

VW TorontoThe first batch of Volkswagens to be imported into Canada are pictured at the port of Toronto in Ontario on 2 December 1952

VW Bus BugAn interesting 'hybrid' parked just off Südstrasse at the front of VW-Werk Wolfsburg in 1971

VW Type 3A large consignment of VW Type 1, 2 and 3 models arrived by train are lifted onto waiting ships for export in the early 1960s

VW Type1Beetles move slowly along the final assembly line in Hall 12 at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg

Type 2 CombiBarndoor buses: Type 2 Combi and pickup trucks in the final assembly hall at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg sometime between 1953 and 1955

Oval WIndow Beetle70 years ago - Oval-window Type 1 bodyshells at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg in 1954. Note the chassis platforms being transported on the chain conveyor in the background for transfer onto the assembly belts in the foreground

VW VarientType 3 assembly at the VW plant in Palma Sola Venezuela

Mexican VW Beetle21st century Vocho production at the Puebla plant of Volkswagen de Mexico on June 13. 2001

VW TrunkA Volkswagen Inspector checking front lids at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg. The large team of Inspectors at the factory were independent of all other departments in the plant

VW Wolfsburg factoryRows of new split-window Beetles in the new vehicle holding yard on the west side of the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, about 1951

Beetle factory picturesCompleted bodies are lowered onto their chassis platforms for the Hochzeit where all the pieces of the jigsaw come together to form a complete car for the first time.


VW factory workerA worker in the final assembly hall at Volkswagenwerk Wolfsburg, guiding the body shell down onto the chassis for the critical joining operation, the Hochzeit or Wedding, very late 1950s


Barndoor BusA barndoor bus is lifted on board. Hamburg, October 1951


Karmann GhiasKarmann Ghia production at Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, Osnabruck: Type 14 and Type 34


VW SquarebackType 3 Variant assembly line at Wolfsburg


VW of Mexico1974 model year Beetle and Type 181 VW Safari/Thing assembly at Volkswagen de Mexico's plant in Puebla


VW FridolinNew VW Type 147 'Fridolin' delivery vans near the high-rise administration building at VW-Werk Wolfsburg


Volkswagen Super Beetle  productionRed, white and blue 1971 model year 1302 Super Beetle bodies fresh from the paint line are transported by overhead chain conveyors to the body fitting out hall at Volkswagenwerk Emden


VW shipThe Netherlands first Volkswagen importer Ben Pon loaded a Beetle aboard the Holland America ship Westerdam at the port of Rotterdam on January 8, 1949 for export to the United States


Auto Union factoryVolkswagen assembly lines at the Auto Union factory in Ingolstadt. The Beetle was assembled here from 1965 to 1969

All images courtesy of Volkswagen Factory Pictures Facebook Group