The history of the "people's car" is well known. The first Volkswagen, the famous Beetle, was the brainchild of Prof Ferdinand Porsche, a man usually associated with more upmarket models. But that the car - the first to be designed for a mass market - made it to the road at all was due to the enthusiasm of Adolf Hitler.

Other models have since followed the Beetle, propelling Volkswagen into the top league of motor makers worldwide.

The company, which is headed by Mr Ferdinand Piech, reported profits of £1.5 billion on sales of £46 billion last year and is valued at around £20 billion on the stock market.

Mr Piech (61) was recently named president of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Along with Daimler rival Juergen Schrempp, he also made Business Week's list of the top 25 executives for 1998.