The German government sold special war stamps that could eventually be used to purchase a real KdF Wagen. In theory, as soon as 200 stamps were collected, they could be redeemed for a car. However, the KdF Wagen was not to be, and it never progressed beyond the prototype/demonstration stage.

In later years, many people who collected these stamps took Volkswagen to court seeking compensation, since VW never made good on the KdF stamps.

The KdF Wagen factory was busy pumping out Type 82s: Kübelwagens. The Kübelwagen was a  military vehicle that  used the same parts as the KdF Wagen, but with a flat-sided body, and increased ground clearance. It was essentially the Germany's "Jeep" in WWII.

During the war, the company also produced an amphibious vehicle, which was known as the Type 128, and later as the Type 166: the Schwimmwagen. This vehicle was powered by a 25hp engine, and had a retractable ducted propeller in the rear for water use.

In the water, the Schwimmwagen could achieve up to 5mph, and steered in the water with its front tires. There were over 50,000 Type 82s produced, and almost 16,000 Schwimmwagens  during the war.

There were several military versions of the KdF Wagen produced during the war:

Naturally the  KdF Wagen factory was a prime target for allied forces during the war, and it was partially destroyed.

After the war was over, the British Army took over the factory. The British were interested in the factory, because they needed a form of light transportation: The factory was brought back up

Under the guidance of  Major Ivan Hirst of the British Army  production restarted and by the end of 1945,  more than 2000 cars had left the factory.

Most of them were produced from spare parts that were left in the factory. Within a year, the factory had produced over 10,000 cars, all thanks to assistance from the British government.

Sometime after 1945, the company was named Volkswagen by the British Army of Occupation, who also renamed the town at the factory "Wolfsburg", taken from the name of a local castle.

The British Army sought to give control of the company to able hands:

The Ford Motor company turned the offer down because it thought it would be a waste of money.

The French government refused.

The now long defunct British Rootes Group evaluated the Car and then rejected it as simply too awful to sell.

At this point you couldn't give VW away.

In 1949, the British government happily relinquished control of the company to the German government.

After 1949, production at Volkswagen steadily increased.  Late in 1949, an idea for a utility/transport vehicle was developed, and by 1950, the VW transporter was born.

Volkswagens were being exported to neighboring European countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Luxemburg, Belgium, and Switzerland. As early as 1950, Volkswagen began producing Beetles as they where now known in South Africa  as well.

Volkswagen commissioned an old German coach building company, Karmann, to build their Beetle convertibles. Every single convertible Volkswagen Beetle was completed by Karmann: hence the special badges fitted on VW convertibles.

In 1952, a Volkswagen dealership was opened in England: which was the first there. A few Volkswagens were imported into the United States in 1949 by Ben Pon, but they didn't immediately gain popularity. Very few were sold in their first year in the US. The strange looks compact size and anti German sentiment played heavily against it.

 The Hoffmann company of New York, which imported Beetles in the early 1950s, eventually abandoned Volkswagen, and imported Porsches instead. Volkswagen did not sell many cars in the United States until the mid-1950s.

In 1951, Volkswagen began to export a deluxe version of the beetle. There was already a "standard" Beetle, which was only available in a dull grey color.

These standard Beetles were very Spartan: they lacked synchromesh transmissions,  chrome, and other special extra options that one might expect to have as standard in cars both today and then.

There were also regular export cars, that were available in several colors. The export cars also had chrome and more options as standard, such as a radio. The American export cars had even more chrome than regular export cars, and were generally the most elaborate with options and features. The American deluxe Beetles got hydraulic brakes in 1952, and lost their semaphores turn signals in 1955.

Volkswagen transporters obviously never sold as heavily as Beetles, and in the first 5 years of production, there were 4 times fewer built than Beetles. The Buses (and all other transporters) produced before 1955 had characteristically large engine access doors. Today, they are largely known as "barn door" buses. Some people think that barn door is supposed to be a reference to the side doors, but it is a misconception. These early barn door transporters are very rare today.

 Beetles built before 1953 (and some during that year) looked almost identical to the Original KdF Wagen designed before WWII.

In 1953, Volkswagen changed the rear split windows of the Beetles, and added a slightly larger oval window.

By 1955, Volkswagen came out with a new model called the Karmann Ghia. It used many parts from the Beetle to keep production cheaper, and less complex. The Karmann Ghia was a joint venture by companies Karmann (builds VW Beetle cabriolets) and Ghia.

 Volkswagen production kept increasing through the late 1950s. In 1958, the larger rear window that most people see in Beetles today  was adopted. In each year, minor changes were made to the Beetle, and the other cars in Volkswagen's lineup, but nothing very drastic. Different turn signals were added and slightly improved engines.

Volkswagen also had a very successful advertising campaign in the 1960s which helped contribute to its success in the United States. The Disney movie, Herbie, also helped promote the Beetle. The Herbie movies portrayed the Beetle as a "love bug."

By the Late in the 1960s, Volkswagen was producing over one million Beetles each year.

After the Beetle's boom years in the late flower power 1960s, its sales began to decline. In 1967,  the transporter underwent major design changes, and in 1969 on US Export Beetles, VW added CV joints in the rear of the car in an effort to improve high speed stability (not that Beetles are very fast).

The Beetles traditional swing axle system worked Ok, but the cumulative effects of small incremental power increases meant that at higher  speeds it tended to lose stability. (the original was a heady 22.5 bhp)

In 1971, Volkswagen developed a "new" car called then the Super Beetle. The Super Beetle had modern MacPherson struts in the front instead of the older transverse beam arrangement it had retained since the 1930s: This new suspension also allowed the front boot to be deeper.

The Super Beetles of '71 had the same windscreens as the standard Beetles, but from '72-'74, a wrap around curved item was implemented.

 These were the only Beetles to have anything in the way of a real dashboard.  Ever increasing  regulations on safety and emissions  pushed the Beetle to its limits. The 30's design  could not be adapted to keep up with the other cars in the industry. Volkswagen stopped production of the Beetle saloon in 1977, and stopped production of the cabriolet in 1979.

However, the Beetle was still thriving in the less demanding environments of Mexico and South America. Volkswagen of Brazil continued building Beetles and VW Vans until 1993. Volkswagen of Mexico still hasn't stopped building Beetles!

Perversely In the same way in which the Car the nobody wanted got everywhere around the world, the Car VW didn't want any longer ended up being exported back to Germany by its Mexican subsidiary.