Volkswagen’s best selling product last year wasn’t a car, it was sausages
- Volkswagen sold more sausages than cars in 2024
- VW sold over 5 million cars in 2024, compared to 8.5 million sausages
- The Volkswagen group as a whole sold 9 million cars last year
Published on Mar 17, 2025 at 3:28 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Mar 17, 2025 at 9:55 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen had an unusual 2024, selling more of its own-brand sausages than its cars.
Volkswagen has its own brand of Currywurst in Germany, and it’s been served to employees at its Wolfsburg headquarters as well as locals since the 1970s.
While it had a slight downturn in car sales in 2024, its sausages have done remarkably well.
Perhaps there’s a market for other manufacturers to make their own food products.
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Volkswagen had a rocky 2024 in terms of sales
Sales of its cars in 2024 were down for Volkswagen.
The company recently released its 2024 earnings, showing a three percent drop in sales.
That came alongside a massive 30 percent fall in profits over the course of the year.
Sadly, the knock-on effect of that was Volkswagen will cut up to 35,000 jobs by 2030.
The manufacturer is also looking at closing some of its Germany-based factories in a bid to turn its fortunes around.
Ever-increasing competition, particularly from China, is one of the reasons why Volkswagen is having a tough time.
However, it can take some comfort knowing how well its sausages are doing.
VW sausages are a big hit
The food, branded as VW Currywurst, is even given the component number of 199 398 500 A.
It’s been serving employees of the company and locals around the Wolfsburg headquarters since 1973.
The product isn’t just something Volkswagen buys in either.
The currywurst has always been produced in-house by a Volkswagen-employed butcher, making it a genuine VW product.
Thousands of employees around the plants and in its headquarters are fed the sausage.
Those who want to try it throughout Germany are in luck, as it’s also sold in grocery stores across the country.
The sausage is also found at the Wolfsburg soccer stadium.
In 2024, Volkswagen sold a staggering 8.552 million portions of the currywurst.
To put that into context, Volkswagen sold nine million cars throughout the entirety of 2024.
So, how is the sausage its best-selling product of 2024?
Well, that figure encompasses the whole VW group.
When it comes to just VW, it sold just 5.2 million vehicles in 2024.
That compares to the to nearly nine million sausages it sold across the year.
As far as weird stories from 2024 go, this has to be one of the weirdest we have ever seen.
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
