Nigerians always have an interesting way to describe simple things, for example, the Volkswagen Beetle, which is universally known as the bug is called tortoise (Ijapa) here. That should tell you something about the amount of love that Nigerians have for it.

The stories behind it are just as lovely and fascinating as its look. Today, we present you 10 stories about Volkswagen and Volkswagen Beetle that you probably haven't heard of:

1. The origin of Volkswagen

The motive behind the creation of a car is oftentimes complex. In the case of this car brand, it was Hitler that was the major driving force as he wanted something for the low-budget customers, something that's fit for a family but doesn't break their bank. Not only that, he specifically demands the founder of the Porsche brand, Porsche Ferdinand to be in charge of making this "People's car" - or in other words, "Volkswagen."

Surprisingly, Hitler was a major contributor to the birth of the VW

>>> Do you know: the Bug is one of Top 8 best selling cars of all time?

2. The lifespan of Beetle

Its production has not been put off since 1938, making it the vehicle with the longest lifespan in the whole world. By the end of 2003, more than 21 million cars were already manufactured!

3. Global nicknames for "Ijapa"

Interestingly, the Beetles seem to gather a lot of attention worldwide. In many countries that the car had been to, it has its own nickname. For example, we Nigerians call it "Tortoise", the French calls it "Ladybug". The closest to ours is "Turtle" in Bolivia and in Indonesia, they call it "Frog".

Being loved worldwide, it got a new nickname everywhere it went 

4. The prototype maker: an 18-year-old girl

We know that Porsche Ferdinand was in charge of producing the car, but long before that, an 18-year old girl from Hungary was realized was the basic prototype of the VW Beetle. It was named "Volkswagen Type 1"

5. Other facts around Volkswagen Beetle

• In Africa, our capital Lagos is proud to host one assembling plant, in the total of only two plants of the whole continent.
• The size of a Beetle car was similar to the heart of a blue whale!
• The first million car milestone was made in 1955. Before that, the Beetle convertible, which was made in 1949 quickly became the best selling car only 1 year after that, in 1950. It dominated the market so much that it took up to nearly half of the market share.

You can fit a beetle inside the heart of a blue whale

>>> Stay tuned with Naijacarnews.com for more fun car facts!