The Volkswagen Sharan is a large MPV produced by the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 automaker

Automaker

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....

 Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...

 since 1995.
The name Sharan is derived from a Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 word meaning "Carrier of Kings".
The Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....

 subsequently rebadged

Badge engineering

Badge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...

 the Sharan in 1996, and sold it as the SEAT Alhambra

SEAT Alhambra

The SEAT Alhambra is a large 7-seat MPV by the Volkswagen Group, sold under the SEAT brand.The Alhambra already spans two generations since 1996, and both of them are built at the AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal...

 alongside the Sharan. All variants were produced at the joint venture plant AutoEuropa

AutoEuropa

AutoEuropa - Automóveis Lda. is a motor vehicle assembly plant, located in the city of Palmela, Portugal.-Foundation:After signature of a joint venture agreement between Volkswagen Group and Ford in July 1991, the 2million sqm plant was built in four years, including a surrounding industrial park...

 in Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, alongside the closely related Ford Galaxy

Ford Galaxy

The first Galaxy was designed as a joint venture product between Ford and the Volkswagen Group. Produced at the joint-venture AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal, the vehicle was badge-engineered to create three vehicles: the Ford Galaxy; by Volkswagen Passenger Cars as the Volkswagen Sharan;...

. Each of the three MPV models had its own subtle differences in exterior, and, for the Galaxy, in interior design.