VW Transporter is the longest surviving commercial vehicle

German manufacturer Volkswagen will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the production of the Transporter, which has now become the longest surviving commercial vehicle. The Transporter, along with the Suburban and F-Series trucks, is the oldest surviving nameplate in the automobile world. 

Do you know the name of the longest surviving nameplate in the automobile world? Well, the answer is the Chevrolet Suburban, which has been in production since 1935. The next would be the F-Series trucks, which have been around since 1948. The VW Beetle, probably the most popular car of all time, could have also been a part of this list since its production started in 1949. But, the German carmaker stopped the production of this model a few years ago. However, a company as old as VW would surely have a few other models that had stayed around for nearly as long, and the truth is that they do.  

The VW Transporter, which has been in production since 1950, is now the longest surviving commercial vehicle nameplate in the world of automobiles. The German manufacturer is celebrating the completion of 70 years of this commercial vehicle. 

The Transporter started out as a hand-built panel van in 1949 and then came flying out of the Wolfsburg factory on March 8, 1950. This little van, then, evolved into a rear-engined panel van, a passenger van, and an eight-seat bus. Its first examples were powered by the same engine found in the Beetle. Through the years, it was also known as the Bulli, Kombi, VW bus, and also the microbus.

Today, more than 13 million units have been sold worldwide, and from its humble beginnings, the new Transporter T6.1 now comes with some great features and the best high-tech gadgetry you would find on modern cars. It also doesn't look anything like the original. Instead, the design has evolved over the years to stay in tune with the current market changes. Nevertheless, this nameplate has withstood the test of time and is still going strong.     

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