Volkswagen buys 90.1% stake in Italdesign Giugiaro

Volkswagen CEO, Martin Winterkorn with the founder of Italdesign Giugiaro, Giorgetto Giugiaro

Volkswagen Group announced today that it will take a 90.1 percent controlling stake in Italdesign Giugiaro SpA, leaving the Giugiaro family with 10 percent of the shares.

“With this shareholding in Italdesign, we are participating in one of the most renowned design and development companies with one of the richest traditions in the automobile industry,” said Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn. “Italdesign is the flagship for creative Italian automobile design and has been instrumental in shaping the face of the automobile industry worldwide. As the creator of the Golf I, Giorgetto Giugiaro laid a new foundation for Volkswagen design in the 1970s.”

Italdesign Giugiaro also helped with concepts for important models including the first Volkswagen Passat, Scirocco and the Audi 80.

Volkswagen Golf Gen 1

Winterkorn said that with Italdesign becoming a permanent member of the Volkswagen family, the company will play an important role in the German automaker’s 2018 global growth strategy.

On a personal note for Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech, the executive goes from a student who spent a summer working at Italdesign Giugiaro almost 40 years ago to the owner. At the age of 37, Piech learned about design and engineering from founder Giorgetto Giugiaro (Source: Automotive News)

– By: Omar Rana