Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge

History.

With the VW Bulli from 1950, Volkswagen established the camper tradition in Germany — the California rolls off the production line today with its own body at the Hannover plant.

Volkswagen's motorhome history begins in 1950 with the first VW Transporter (Bulli). The camper conversion was originally carried out externally — most notably by the Westfalia plants, which from 1951 developed the VW camping box for the T1 and over the decades became an iconic part of VW camper history.

In 1995, VW Nutzfahrzeuge was established as an independent brand of Volkswagen AG. Since 1988, VW has built the camper under the name California itself — initially in collaboration with Westfalia, and from 2003 entirely in-house. Today, the Hannover plant produces the California — from August 2026 exclusively in Stöcken; the Grand California, available since 2018, is produced at the Crafter plant in Września (Poland).

1. 1950 First VW Transporter (Bulli) — Beginning of the Camper Tradition
2. 1951 Westfalia-Werke develop the VW camping box for the T1
3. 1988 First VW California jointly with Westfalia
4. 1995 Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge becomes an independent brand of VW AG
5. 2003 VW takes full in-house control of California production
6. 2018 Market launch of the Grand California (based on the Crafter)