Volkswagen Group has just announced that it has bought a 90.1 percent stake in Italian design company Italdesign Giugiaro.
This acquisition has been processed through AUDI’s
Italian subsidiary Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. and it also means that Volkswagen will now own Italdesign Giugiaro’s brand name rights and patents. The remaining 9.9 percent shares in Italdesign will stay in the possession of the Giugiaro family.
IDG was founded in 1968 with both founders Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani becoming pioneers of the modern automobile design, as their comapny’s development center is responsible for models like the Golf I, the first Volkswagen Passat, Scirocco or the Audi 80.
Speaking about the Italdesign aquisition by Volkswagen, Giugiaro says that "Every drop becomes the sea when
it flows oceanward", "Becoming part of the Volkswagen Group means
revaluating ourselves and our strength. Entering Volkswagen means to
open up a promising perspective for the company".
Volkwagen press release :
Wolfsburg/Turin, 25 May 2010 – The Volkswagen Group and Italdesign
Giugiaro S.p.A. (IDG), Turin, are to intensify their successful
cooperation, putting it on a new footing. This was announced by both
companies at a joint press conference in Turin on Tuesday. The
Volkswagen Group will take a 90.1 percent stake in IDG, including the
brand name rights and patents. The shares are being acquired by AUDI’s
Italian subsidiary Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. The remaining shares will
stay in the possession of the present owner family Giugiaro.
"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. 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," Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn,
Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft,
commented in Turin.
The Volkswagen Group has enjoyed successful
cooperation with IDG for many decades. Giugiaro made a name for himself
not only with the Golf I, but also with concepts for important models
such as the first Volkswagen Passat, Scirocco or the Audi 80.
A comprehensive development framework agreement was concluded in 2008.
Volkswagen and IDG are also collaborating closely on ongoing projects
such as the planned Volkswagen Up! model family. Implementation of the
agreement is also subject to the standard approval by the relevant
authorities.
"A new era in the strategic partnership between our
companies begins today. Italdesign becomes a permanent member of the
global Volkswagen family," Winterkorn said. "The Volkswagen Group will
be continuing its model initiative over the coming years and will
benefit from the capacity and competence of Italdesign. The company will
therefore be making an important contribution to our 2018 global growth
strategy," Winterkorn continued.
IDG was founded in Turin by
Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani in 1968. Both founders are
considered pioneers of modern Italian automobile design. Italdesign has
also acquired a reputation worldwide as a highly-competent development
center. Today, the company generates sales of over €100 million and has a
workforce of some 800 employees.
"Every drop becomes the sea when
it flows oceanward. In the last few days I ran into this sentence while
I was reading Sophie`s World by the Norwegian novelist Jostein
Gaardner. We are the drop. Becoming part of the Volkswagen Group means
revaluating ourselves and our strength. Entering Volkswagen means to
open up a promising perspective for the company," Giorgetto Giugiaro
said.
