Porsche thought small and pleased millions

History of the Volkswagen Beetle, the world's biggest-selling car.

1931: Designer/engineer Ferdinand Porsche outlines his plans for a mass-produced car, called "project 12."

1934: Porsche draws up the first plans for a "people's car" (volkswagen in German) and presents them to the German Department of Transport.

1935-1937: Porsche and his team spend about $30 million building a car based on reliability, economy and performance, using an air-cooled engine, steel body, torsion bar suspension - even a heater, a luxury feature at the time. Thirty prototypes cover 2.4 million kilometres of testing.

1938: The Volkswagen goes into production in Wolfsburg and Volkswagen GmbH is entered into the commercial business register in Berlin.

1939-45: German Furher Adolf Hitler orders the Volkswagen factories to produce military transport and equipment for the Second World War effort.

1945: The Wolfsburg factory, almost destroyed by Allied bombing, is rebuilt and run by the British occupation forces. 1785 Volkswagens roll off the assembly line. Ford and Britain's Rootes Group turn down the chance to buy Volkswagen. Ford chairman Ernest Breech tells Henry Ford: "I don't think what we are being offered here is worth a damn."

1948: The 25,000th Volkswagen comes off the assembly line.

1949: The first VW is imported into the United States.

1950: Motor Distributors of Ireland becomes the first company to build VWs outside Germany.

1955: Volkswagen of America is formed after the 500,000th is imported and the 1,000,000th VW is built.

1956: The first VWs are imported into New Zealand fully built-up. Soon after, assembly begins at Fort Richard Rd in Otahuhu.

1960: American advertising agency DDB nicknames the VW the "Beetle" and begins campaigns "Ugly is only skin deep" and "Think small."

1965: VW buys Auto Union GmbH (Audi) from Daimler-Benz.

1968: VWs sell like hotcakes in America - 423,000 in 12 months at $US1800 ($NZ3650).

1972: VW becomes biggest-selling car ever, with production of 15,007,034 beating the Ford Model T.

1973-74: Reliance on single model causes VW some concern, so it builds Passat and Golf. Beetle factory in Melbourne, which has been supplying New Zealand, shuts down production.

1985: VW in Germany phases out Beetle production, although it continues to be built in Mexico and Brazil.

1992: American designers come up with a concept based on the original Beetle.

1994: Prototype, known as Concept One, is unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show.

1996: VW announces the car will be called the New Beetle and built at Peubla, Mexico.

1998: After 62 prototypes, 2.1 million kilometres of testing and more than $1 billion in research, the New Beetle goes on sale in America.