WHAT comes to mind upon hearing the name “Volkswagen”? Their famous Beetle or their Kombi van - an icon of the Flower Power era of hippies - most likely.
How about sausages, though? It has been claimed that along with cars, vans and other land vehicles and spare parts, Volkswagen also made sausages. Is there any truth to this, or is it just one of the “wurst” jokes?
Verdict:
TRUE
Volkswagen actually made a form of sausage known as the currywurst at its plant in Wolfsburg, Germany from 1973 to 2021, only stopping because its cafeterias were switching to a plant-based menu.
These sausages were originally made on-site for employees due to the remoteness of the Wolfsburg plant, but they were well received and were eventually available at not just Volkswagen's in-house staff restaurants and cafeterias, but also at selected supermarkets and football stadiums.
A “currywurst” is a sausage that is meant to be served cut into thick bite-sized chunks and drenched in a spicy ketchup with curry powder sprinkled over it.
And these sausages and their accompanying ketchup also got their own original number like any other Volkswagen part, receiving the “Originalteil” or “original part” number 199 398 500 A for a pack of five sausages, and Originalteil 199 398 500 B for the tomato sauce.
It is said that these sausages were so popular that Volkswagen churned out seven million sausages in 2019 alone and had also come out with a vegan version prior to its 2021 end.
When it ended, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder took to LinkedIn to lament.
Schröder, the immediate predecessor to Angela Merkel, was quoted saying that "a vegetarian diet is good, and I do it myself in phases. But basically no currywurst? No!"
He said the Volkswagen's currywurst would not end if he was still on the company's government supervisory board.
"Currywurst with French fries is one of the power foods of the skilled workers in production. It should stay that way," said Schröder.
However, Volkswagen's curry sausage has now lapsed into the history books despite such a high-profile defender and it looks set to remain that way for the foreseeable future.
SOURCES:
https://www.theregister.com/
https://www.politico.eu/
https://www.dw.com/en/ex-
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
