HN 2: The British and their Works

3
3.1
Service and sales
Important decisions for the future
The Volkswagenwerk’s monopoly for the supply of vehicles to
the Reichspost and Reichsbahn was shaken somewhat in mid-
1947. This was a foretaste of the competitive situation which
would once again prevail in the foreseeable future, and caused
the head of the service department, Karl Feuereissen, to warn
against underestimating Opel as a competitor. The Rüsselsheim
motor manufacturer had, he said, an excellent service network
and a dealer network which Volkswagen did not. 141 Feuereissen
thus touched a raw nerve of vital importance to the plant’s
future development. By the end of the war the Volkswagenwerk
had only the beginnings of a service department and sales
system to its name. Both were originally to have been set up
by the German Labour Front. But the basis for this no longer
existed, because the motorization of the people that Hitler
promised failed to materialise due to the material and labour
shortages caused by the war. Apart from a few symbolic vehicles
for Party officials, series production of the saloon only started
under British occupation. Actively supported by the trustees,
the Volkswagen plant now concentrated on setting up a
sales and service department in an attempt to reduce its rivals’
substantial competitive lead.
At the end of 1945, on Major Hirst’s initiative, the service
department was set up. The Royal Engineers made valuable
contributions to its development, having operated its own
service department for the British Army in the REME workshop.
142 The new department initially remained closely bound to
the requirements of the Military Government. Because the
Volkswagenwerk processed almost exclusively orders from the
occupying powers, the Industry Division does not seem to have
promoted its further expansion. Given the production conditions
prevailing, the priorities lay elsewhere. This changed at a
stroke in June 1946. The British ordered the management at
short notice to supply the Volkswagen to British administrative
departments at half-price, that is, 2,500 RM. This would depend
on a monthly production of 4,000 vehicles, a part of which was
to be released for civilian sales. The factory management had to
calculate the price in such a way that it could recoup the losses
from the commanded programme.
Although this instruction took no account whatsoever of the
actual production possibilities, the prospect of civilian business
triggered a hectic burst of activity. The factory management
pressed for the immediate establishment of a sales organisation
and a service department for the civilian sector. Otherwise the
Volkswagen would risk getting a bad name as a result of
incorrect or inadequate repair, service and maintenance. 143 At
the beginning of June 1946 Karl Feuereissen submitted his
proposals for the establishment of a service organisation. In
accordance with the provisions of the Highways and Highway
Transport Branch, distributors and main distributors were to be
appointed for certain areas, whose business policy was to be
contractually regulated in close consultation with the