this is just... a thing. turns out auto companies have the tools, know how, and chain of production that militaries need
this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
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Are you referring to the Iltis, or what? VW didn't even exist during WWII.
VW was founded in 1937 and switched to producing military vehicles in 1939 during WW2.
They never delivered a single car until after the war, so that's a bit of a stretch... "Volkswagen" was basically just a factory building Porsche designs.
Wikipedia says they produced over 50,000 of the Volkswagen Kübelwagen for the war effort between 1940-1945.
Yeah I know, but it wasn't branded as a Volkswagen, nor had VW ever built any vehicle carrying the name, it was just a factory. Anyway this is just semantics, I'm ruining the joke.
FYI, pretty much every western and japanese auto company that has been around during WW2 has been producing for the military.
Yeah, you're not using military contractors to make vehicles from from scratch. Especially things like engine, transmission, etc.
That would add years of development and testing. Compared to slapping some turbos on a beefed up engine from an experienced manufacturer.
And most auto factories can't operate normally during a war anyway. Many of the workers will be fighting on the front, international supply chains are disrupted, many consumers won't be able to afford new cars, many markets will be closed off because they're on opposing sides in the war.