Lower Saxony, a federal state in the north of Germany, is VW’s second-largest shareholder after Porsche. Due to the so called “Volkswagen law” the state is in a very comfortable position to control the company. The law came into force on 21st March 1960, when the former Volkswagen GmbH was privatised and converted into a [...]

When reading the FT today I discovered a piece of information, which – when put together with some other things – seems to form up a very interesting bigger picture. It was in an analysis of the success of Indian companies in global markets and it said that Indian Tata Motors has a “one lakh [...]

About one month ago I predicted that Toyota will invest more efforts in the German market soon. So far it seems as if this prediction is in tune with reality: Today, German newspaper Handelsblatt writes that Toyota is going to launch the larges billboards advertising campaign ever in Germany to introduce its new “Auris” model. [...]

Contrary to the United States, where Toyota and their luxury brand Lexus have gained a considerable market share, both brands have been struggling for years in Germany. According to official statistics, both brands together have a market share of new cars sales of only 4 %. Although Toyota had been enjoying a reputation for superior [...]