What was the advertised price of the original 1938 KdF-Wagen (Beetle) in German Reichsmarks?

The advertised price of the original 1938 KdF-Wagen (Beetle) was 990 German Reichsmarks. The figure was central to the Nazi-era promise of a practical “people’s car” affordable to ordinary German families.

Rather than buying the car outright, customers were encouraged to join a savings scheme operated through the Kraft durch Freude organization. Participants purchased 5-Reichsmark savings stamps and attached them to cards while waiting for delivery. The scheme was heavily promoted, but the civilian car was never delivered as promised: the factory shifted to military production after the outbreak of World War II.

The 990-Reichsmark figure is therefore an advertised or promised price, not a normal prewar showroom price paid by a large population of buyers. Only limited prewar production occurred, and series production for civilians began after the war under British supervision. A common mix-up is confusing the 990-Reichsmark promise with later postwar Beetle prices, which changed as the car gained equipment and production expanded.