Volkswagen will acquire Italdesign Giugiaro

Automotive Design 19 May 2010

Automotive News Europe has revealed that Volkswagen will buy a majority stake in Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A., the Italian design firm. This acquisition will contribute to the German company’s plan to be the world’s largest carmaker by 2018.

Accoring to Automotive News Europe, Volkswagen is interesting in acquiring a controlling stake in Italdesign Giugiaro, the Italian design studio founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1968, and currently entirely owned by him and his son Fabrizio.


Design sketches of the first generation Golf (1974) – Source: Virtual Car

Previous collaborations between the Italian designer and the VW Group have included the first generation Golf in 1974 as well as the original Passat and Scirocco models in the mid-70s.

Among the more recent creations are the 1998 Volkswagen W12 Concept and the Bugatti EB 118 / EB 218.

In the gallery we report an interesting set of recent images that show Italdesign Giugiaro’s facilities. The firm has 975 employees and 800 computer aided design workstations.