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Mon Aug 03, 2015 8:34 pm

I know busses were were built in Wolfsburg till early 56 or so then production moved to Hanover. I heard, could be wrong, the production of North American spec beetles went to its own factory in Emden. I believe engines, transaxles, front beams, and engine remans were from Kassel. I also know full beetle production went on at Audi's Ingolstadt plant. Where did those beetle go? Am I correct? Also, where was the Type 3 built? For awhile, in the early 70s Wolfsburg built Beetles, Dashers and 411s. Again correct me if I'm wrong. I would like to know

Wed Aug 05, 2015 8:02 pm

Nigeria, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand - and others - all built or assembled air-cooled VWs

Australia manufactured its own Bugs from its own pressings and suppliers for much of the 1960s; I believe it was the first outside Wolfsburg to do so. It also assembled Type 2, 3 and - later - Supers, Passat and Golfs

Here's a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNRBfy8ay4E

Thu Aug 06, 2015 12:03 pm

type 3s were built in Wolfsburg

Thu Aug 06, 2015 12:24 pm

Slow 1200 wrote: type 3s were built in Wolfsburg

Were ALL of them for all years? I thought some were built elsewhere.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590374

http://www.vwtype3.org/owners.manual/history/

Thu Aug 06, 2015 1:18 pm

21junkstreet wrote: I know busses were were built in Wolfsburg till early 56 or so then production moved to Hanover. I heard, could be wrong, the production of North American spec beetles went to its own factory in Emden. I believe engines, transaxles, front beams, and engine remans were from Kassel. I also know full beetle production went on at Audi's Ingolstadt plant. Where did those beetle go? Am I correct? Also, where was the Type 3 built? For awhile, in the early 70s Wolfsburg built Beetles, Dashers and 411s. Again correct me if I'm wrong. I would like to know
If--in 1966--U.S. spec Beetles were built in Emden, how about the Tourist Delivery cars? Were they built in Emden and then transported to Wolfsburg for the customer to pick them up there? Or did the tourist have to pick it up in Emden? :?

Thu Aug 06, 2015 7:10 pm

No doubt planning and ground breaking for the Emden factory started in the late 50's when VW was behind US demand by a month or two, they just couldn't build and ship them over fast enough!

I've always read the Emden factory opened for production sometime in late '64 with the all new tooling for the '65- bodies.

One major milestone to judge their Beetle production by is that it took them all of '65 and half way into the '66 model year to produce #100,000 from that factory...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=436959&highlight=100+000+emden

Given this fact, better to say Emden supplemented production of US bound cars built at Wolfsburg, rather than replace.

Fri Aug 07, 2015 6:24 am

61SNRF wrote: No doubt planning and ground breaking for the Emden factory started in the late 50's when VW was behind US demand by a month or two, they just couldn't build and ship them over fast enough!

I've always read the Emden factory opened for production sometime in late '64 with the all new tooling for the '65- bodies.

One major milestone to judge their Beetle production by is that it took them all of '65 and half way into the '66 model year to produce #100,000 from that factory...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=436959&highlight=100+000+emden

Given this fact, better to say Emden supplemented production of US bound cars built at Wolfsburg, rather than replace.
Thanks, Bruce.
So when I was told that the 1st owner of my car picked it up at "the factory", it could very well have been Wolfsburg.

Fri Aug 07, 2015 9:34 am

61SNRF wrote: No doubt planning and ground breaking for the Emden factory started in the late 50's when VW was behind US demand by a month or two, they just couldn't build and ship them over fast enough!

I've always read the Emden factory opened for production sometime in late '64 with the all new tooling for the '65- bodies.

One major milestone to judge their Beetle production by is that it took them all of '65 and half way into the '66 model year to produce #100,000 from that factory...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=436959&highlight=100+000+emden

Given this fact, better to say Emden supplemented production of US bound cars built at Wolfsburg, rather than replace.

Little history;
On February 4, 1964, the State of Lower Saxony, the shipping and waterway administration, the city of Emden and
Volkswagen AG signed contracts for the purchase of an industrial site with an area of about 200 ha in the immediate
vicinity of the port of Emden. There were two major reasons for the choice of Emden as a site for the plant. Firstly, the port
of Emden is the major German seaport offering the shortest possible shipping distances to overseas countries. Secondly, the
large labor force available in the East Frisia region was a key factor.
Emden and East Frisia were one of the most economically depressed areas of Western Germany. At that time,
unemployment was about 25 percent; now, the figure in the region is about 7 percent. As production volumes rose, the
workforce of the plant grew from the initial figure of 790 to 3,016 in 1965, in only one year.
After only nine months of construction, the first Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the production line at Emden, Volkswagen’s fifth
plant in Germany, on December 8, 1964. Volkswagen Emden initially specialized in the production of the Beetle, especially
for the North American market. However, over the 50-year history of the plant, many other Volkswagen models such as the
Type 2 Bus, Golf I, Type 181 Kurier, Audi 80, Santana, Type 4 Bus and Taro have been produced here.
The Passat has been produced at Emden since 1977. Since then, the Emden plant has been the lead plant for production of
this model. Currently, the seventh-generation Passat is also produced at Emden. The eighth-generation Passat is due to follow
in 2014.
The total number of vehicles produced at Emden and delivered to customers by the end of 2013 was more than 10.6 million.
Since 1964,. Volkswagen has become the largest industrial employer in Emden and the entire North-West region. Not only
the 9,200 people employed directly at the plant but also the economy of the entire region, including suppliers, the logistics
sector, the port, craftsmen and other.
Like said above Emden was a supplemental supplier of Beetle production. In the contact I have had with Beetles privately and professionally in over 40 years I see very little mid 60's Beetles with a data plate with the Emden production origin. FYI the VERY LAST Beetle sedan built in Germany ( Jan 1978) and is forever preserved in the VW museum is a Emden built Type 111, a 40hp 1200 swing axle, ft. and rear torsion bar sprung car.

Fri Aug 07, 2015 9:44 am

Slow 1200 wrote: type 3s were built in Wolfsburg

Production type 3 ;

Wolfsburg, Germany later Emden, Germany
São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil (VW Brasil)
Clayton, Australia

Fri Aug 07, 2015 10:04 am

Here is a listing for Beetles of how many were built, when and where:

Sun Aug 09, 2015 10:36 am

This is great information! Thanks! So I guess its safe to say my September 64 beetle is from the Wolfsburg plant. But my beloved 73 (RIP) was probably from Emden. My next question is, Beetles don't have m-code plates so how do you tell where its from? Except for maybe the obvious Mexican and Brazilian ones.

Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:51 pm

21junkstreet wrote: This is great information! Thanks! So I guess its safe to say my September 64 beetle is from the Wolfsburg plant. But my beloved 73 (RIP) was probably from Emden. My next question is, Beetles don't have m-code plates so how do you tell where its from? Except for maybe the obvious Mexican and Brazilian ones.

If you get your cars birth certificate from the factory it will tell you which plant it was manufactured.

Sun Aug 09, 2015 8:40 pm

I haven't done the one for my 65. The one I did fot my 73 in about 1992 just gave production and delivery dates, paint color, engine number, and a couple of options. I know they changed them ( they also used to be free I think) but I don't remember if they have the factory

Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:28 pm

21junkstreet wrote: I haven't done the one for my 65. The one I did fot my 73 in about 1992 just gave production and delivery dates, paint color, engine number, and a couple of options. I know they changed them ( they also used to be free I think) but I don't remember if they have the factory

There is a possibility that things have changed. I got the birth certificates for my 64 and 65 in 1974. People who have done this recently should chime in to update us on what's happening.