Volkswagen Group announced its sales data for the 2024 fiscal year last week. The data showed that Volkswagen Group's global sales in 2024 will be 9.037 million vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 3%. While car sales are declining, another product produced by Volkswagen continues to sell well: curry sausage.
"More than eight million original Volkswagen currywursts were sold, setting a new sales record for us," Volkswagen's human resources director Gunnar Kilian wrote on social media.
8,552,000 to be exact. That’s almost as many as Volkswagen sold in the past year. Volkswagen’s currywurst is not a car part, but it has a corresponding part number like a car part: 199 398 500A.
As a national snack in Germany, currywurst was born in 1949 and has since become popular in the capital, Berlin. When people who have tasted this dish hear about currywurst, they will unconsciously think of "sliced sausages wrapped in ketchup or mayonnaise, with French fries on the side".
In 1973, Volkswagen Group launched its own curry sausage, and the recipe was only in the hands of a very small number of employees. In terms of color, Volkswagen's curry sausage is not much different from the curry sausage sold in Berlin restaurants, but the taste is more different. Such a popular curry sausage disappeared from the menu of Volkswagen's internal canteen for a while. In 2021, Volkswagen announced a ban on the production of pork-based products at its main factory in Wolfsburg. This move was also to comply with the government's requirements for the green transformation of animal husbandry at the time. In short, "eating less meat" is good for the environment.
However, under the strong protests of the workers and external pressure, the Volkswagen Group finally decided to resume the supply of curry sausage. In 2023, curry sausage returned to the tables of Volkswagen employees, and people affectionately called it "workers' energy bar."
The head of food production at Volkswagen Group has promised more innovations for the currywurst, including a ready-to-eat version to be served with Volkswagen's homemade ketchup, which, like the currywurst, has its own number: 00010 ZDK-259-101.
