Volkswagen set a surprising record in 2024 – it sold more sausages than cars.
That’s eight million currywurst sausages sold, to be exact.
As a brand, Volkswagen has been around since 1937, so selling sausages is a relatively new endeavor for the manufacturer.
Yet and still, VW is clearly bringing home the bacon with this side of the business.
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How Volkswagen began selling sausages – and how they outsold their cars
It’s one of those things that you wouldn’t believe is true.
A big car manufacturer like Volkswagen making and selling sausages?
And said sausages outselling the brand’s cars?
Something doesn’t quite add up, does it?
Volkswagen has been around for 98 years and have produced some great cars along the way.
A 1977 bus made by them became an icon of resilience after it survived the Los Angeles fire.
A Volkswagen Beetle also survived the blazes, which suggested these cars were sturdier than you’d expect.
But it’s not just the classics that are impressing – VW is constantly looking for ways to improve.
The German manufacturer recently announced it would be bringing buttons back to its cars, after touchscreens proved divisive among drivers.
So how have sausage links overtaken their vehicles in sales?
Well, in 2024, VWs overall vehicle sales declined by 2.3 percent.
VW’s chief human resources officer, Gunnar Kilian announced the unusual record on social media: “More than 8 million Volkswagen original currywursts marks a new sales record for us.”
This was a 200,000 increase from 2023.
What is the Currywurst sausage?
The Currywurst is one of Germany’s most beloved dishes.
It’s a sliced sausage covered in tomato sauce, curry powder, and paprika.
Volkswagen sells them in 30 canteens and work sites, as well as in grocery stores near to its factories.
The exact recipe behind them is known only by a select few employees.
On-site butchers create them in a service factory.
A decision to take them off the menu in company headquarters in the Germany city of Wolfsburg led to an outcry among the workers, The Guardian reported.
Even Germany’s former chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, who led the country from 1998 to 2005, got involved in the dispute.
The politician branded the currywurst the ‘power bar of the skilled factory worker’.
That’s quite the endorsement – and it ultimately got Volkswagen to bring the currywurst back.
It should be of some comfort to Volkswagen.
Even when car sales are down, its sausages have remained firm favorites.
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