Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has reached a remarkable milestone after it has produced an excess of over ten million of its iconic Transporter van. And this year is the 60th anniversary of the said model.

The Transporter is a unique vehicle not only because it is one of the most popular vans ever produced but the fact that it has created a cult of loyal followers. And through the years it has been able to sustain its popularity making it as Volkswagen’s best-selling van and its number one imported van in the UK.

Its success is not just attributed to its style and design but also on Volkswagen’s years of quality, durability and competitive whole life costs. Europe’s largest automaker has a network of dedicated Van Centers plus a wide range of derivatives that includes low, medium, and high roofs, short-and long wheelbases, generous payloads, a choice of four and five cylinder TDI engines plus Shuttle and Caravelle people carrier models and the California campervan.

The landmark production figure is currently being utilized on a new advertising campaign with the strap-line ’10 Million Transporter Drivers Can’t Be Wrong’.

Here are some of the facts on the archive of the Volkswagen Transporter sourced from The Auto Channel:

1. 1947: first design sketch of the rear-engined Transporter produced

2. 1950: Production of the first generation, ’split-screen’ Transporter started in Wolfsburg for the 1950 model year with an air-cooled, 1131 cc engine developing    25 PS borrowed from the Volkswagen Beetle.  By comparison, today’s Transporter has a choice of four TDI PD diesel engines from 1.9-litres to 2.5-litres, producing from 84 PS to 174 PS

3. 1955: Volkswagen imported the first Transporter to the UK

4. 1956: Transporter production moved to a new Volkswagen factory in Hanover.

5. 1967: The second generation, ‘bay window’ Transporter was introduced.  Over three million were made during 12 years of production. It’s still produced to this day in Mexico

6. 1979: The third generation Transporter was introduced

7. 1982: After 32 years and with production totaling over five million vehicles, the Transporter switched from air-cooled to water-cooled engines - still rear-mounted

8. 1990: The fourth generation Transporter was introduced and became the first to have the engine at the front to leave a completely flat load area

9. 2003: The current, fifth generation Transporter made its debut

10.2007: Rock legends, The Who, performed live at an official event to celebrate 60 years of Volkswagen vans held in Hanover, Germany, which attracted 71,000 visitors with an amazing selection of over 5,000 Transporter vans