Volkswagen announced today that production of the Transporter (Micro Bus) has exceeded 10 million units since the first rear-engined Transporter with the “split-screen” windshield entered the European market. In the UK, this landmark production figure is now the focus of a new advertising campaign using the strap-line, ‘10 Million Transporter Drivers Can’t Be Wrong’. -Continued after the jump
Marking the milestone, Robert Hazelwood, Director, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles commented: ‘This is an incredible achievement and we’re proud of the success and popularity the Transporter has achieved.’
Facts from the history of the Volkswagen Transporter:
- 1947: first design sketch of the rear-engined Transporter produced
- 1950: Production of the first generation, ‘split-screen’ Transporter started in Wolfsburg for the 1950 model year with an air-cooled, 1131 cc engine developing 25 PS borrowed from the Volkswagen Beetle. By comparison, today’s Transporter has a choice of four TDI PD diesel engines from 1.9-litres to 2.5-litres, producing from 84 PS to 174 PS
- 1955: Volkswagen imported the first Transporter to the UK
- 1956: Transporter production moved to a new Volkswagen factory in Hanover.
- 1967: The second generation, ‘bay window’ Transporter was introduced. Over three million were made during 12 years of production. It’s still produced to this day in Mexico
- 1979: The third generation Transporter was introduced
- 1982: After 32 years and with production totalling over five million vehicles, the Transporter switched from air-cooled to water-cooled engines – still rear-mounted
- 1990: The fourth generation Transporter was introduced and became the first to have the engine at the front to leave a completely flat load area
- 2003: The current, fifth generation Transporter made its debut
- 2007: Rock legends, The Who, performed live at an official event to celebrate 60 years of Volkswagen vans held in Hanover, Germany, which attracted 71,000 visitors with a selection of over 5,000 Transporter vans