The Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE) was an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

manufacturer in

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

, Germany.

History

Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach

Heinrich Ehrhardt founded the Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach (FFE) in Eisenach on 3 December 1896 as a stock company. Initially, he produced bicycles and

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

s. After two years, he started to produce a motor car which he called the

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...

, a licensed model of the French

Decauville Decauville () was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to stee ...

. The company was the third to manufacture cars in Germany, the first being '' Benz & Cie'' and the second being ''

Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (abbreviated as DMG, also known as ''Daimler Motors Corporation'') was a German engineering company and later automobile manufacturer, in operation from 1890 until 1926. Founded by Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900) and ...

''. His son Gustav subsequently took over the factory, which at the end of the 19th century employed 1,300 workers and was one of the largest in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Reorganized as Dixi

In 1903, the Ehrhardt family withdrew from management due to financial losses and also because the license to build Decauvilles was revoked. The factory began building under the new name, Dixi, in 1904 with Willi Seck as chief engineer. The top model, the type U35, was introduced in 1907 and was soon recognized for its reliability and performance with 65 hp (48 kW) and a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph). During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the company produced trucks and guns. Afterwards the factory suffered from

reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from G ...

with removal of equipment. In 1919, car production resumed with the company renamed as Dixi-Werke AG in 1920; but soon economic hardship forced a merger with

Gothaer Waggonfabrik ''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building. World War I In World War I, Got ...

AG. Another result of the economic downturn was a change in output, focusing on small cars. In 1927 Dixi produced the DA-1 3/15, a version of the British

Austin 7 The Austin 7 is an economy car that was produced from 1923 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by Austin. It was nicknamed the "Baby Austin" and was at that time one of the most popular cars produced for the British market and sold well abroad. ...

built under licence.

BMW takes over

In November 1928 BMW acquired the ''Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach A.G. (Marke "Dixi")'' from the ''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' bringing the independent existence of Dixi to an end and the Eisenach factory became the birthplace of car manufacturing by BMW. The Dixi continued briefly as the BMW Dixi but the renamed BMW-Factory Eisenach soon started making an updated version of the car called the '' BMW 3/15PS'' dropping the Dixi name. By 1931, 25000 cars had been produced in a series going from DA 1 to DA 4. The DA-3, a sporting version, saw a re-appearance of the Wartburg name. In 1932 a new small car, the '' 3/20 AM-1'', was announced with independent suspension all round and an enlarged 788cc (48ci) engine. In 1933 BMW started to develop bigger cars with 6-cylinder engines. The first car of which was the ''

BMW 303 The BMW 303 was a small family saloon produced by BMW in 1933 and 1934. It was the first BMW motor car with a six-cylinder engine and the first BMW motor car with the "kidney grille" associated with the brand. The platform developed for the 3 ...

''. Later successors were the '' BMW 315'', ''

BMW 319 The BMW 303 was a small family saloon produced by BMW in 1933 and 1934. It was the first BMW motor car with a six-cylinder engine and the first BMW motor car with the "kidney grille" associated with the brand. The platform developed for the 30 ...

'', ''

BMW 327 The BMW 327 is a medium-sized touring coupé produced by the Bavarian firm between 1937 and 1941, and again produced after 1945. It sat on a shortened version of the BMW 326 chassis. Launch The first 327, launched in 1937, was a cabriolet. In ...

'' and the elegant sports coupe '' BMW 328''. In 1942 BMW moved its motorcycle production to Eisenach, freeing up space in Munich for air craft engines.The BMW Story, Horst Monnich 1991 The main product was the highly successful R75 .In 1942 regular automobile production was stopped because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and started to manufacture aircraft engines for the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

. By the end of the war about 60% of the factory had been destroyed.

After the War: EMW/BMW

After the war, Thuringia was part of the Soviet sector, and the factory became a Soviet Stock company named ''Sowjetische AG Maschinenbau Awtowelo'', ''Werk BMW Eisenach'' (Soviet Awtowelo Co., Eisenach BMW Works). Production restarted with the

BMW 321 The BMW 321 is a compact six-cylinder automobile produced by the Bavarian firm between 1938 and 1941. After 1945, production of the 321 resumed at the Eisenach plant and continued until 1950. The launch The 321 was introduced at the start of 1939 ...

, of which almost 4,000 were made between late 1945 and 1950. A handful of

BMW 326 The BMW 326 is a medium-sized sedan produced by BMW between 1936 and 1941, and again briefly, under Soviet control, after 1945. The 326 was BMW's first four-door sedan.Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile produc ...

s were made in 1946-7 and 161 EMW 325/3s (bucket car) were made in 1952. In 1949 the Eisenach works launched the

BMW 340 The BMW 340, subsequently rebadged as the EMW 340, was a large six-cylinder four-door passenger saloon produced at Eisenach initially in the name of BMW. Five-door 340 station wagons were also manufactured. It was described in 1948 as the fi ...

(a development of the

with modified front and rear bodywork) and the

. As long as the Soviets owned the company, BMW in Munich could not bring legal proceedings to protect its tradename. As the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

factory was not producing cars yet, all "BMWs" made from 1945 to 1951 are Eisenach products. In 1952 the works were transferred to ownership by the East German government and renamed EMW or ''

Eisenacher Motorenwerk Eisenacher Motorenwerk (EMW) was an East German manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles based in Eisenach. EMW also entered Formula One as a constructor in 1953, but participated in only one race, the 1953 German Grand Prix. The car retired ...

'' (see below). It continued type 327 production and further developed the type 340 as the EMW 340-2. Production of both models ceased in 1955, by which time Eisenach had produced a total of over 21,200 BMW/EMW 340s and 400 BMW/EMW 327s. Total production of four-stroke automobiles between 1945 and 1955 was just over 30,800.

VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach

In 1945, AWE resumed production of the pre-war BMW R35 motorcycle. This became the EMW R 35 in 1952, was modified as the R35/2 and later the R35/3 with plunger rear suspension. Eisenach built just over 83,000 of the R35 and its variants before its motorcycle production ended in 1955. In 1952, the Soviet owners handed the company over to the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, and it became a state-owned company. By that time BMW from Munich was able to secure its tradename,

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

, and typical double-nostril grille appearance, and started to produce cars again. The Eisenach company was renamed

(EMW), its logo being a variation of the BMW logo, the blue quadrants replaced by red ones. EMW participated in the

1953 German Grand Prix The 1953 German Grand Prix was a Formula Two motor racing event held on 2 August 1953 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was race 7 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than ...

. One year later it received its final name VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE). The first new model had a three-cylinder two-stroke engine, the

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Ac ...

309. This was based on the

DKW F9 The DKW F9 was the prototype of a car Auto Union intended to launch as a successor to the DKW F8. The small DKWs were among top selling small cars in Germany in the 1930s, and regular model updates were part of the company's strategy for maint ...

prototype that was developed in 1939, but not put into production. The manufacture of models derived from pre-war BMWs, finished at the end of 1955 (see above). In 1956, the first

(Type 311 and later the 312) was launched with a new design, but maintaining the DKW based

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

. The

Wartburg 353 The Wartburg 353, known in some export markets as the Wartburg Knight, is a medium-sized family car, produced by the East German car manufacturer AWE for their Wartburg brand. It was the successor of the Wartburg 311, and was itself succeeded ...

, introduced in 1966, received a new body, but still used the two-stroke engine, now with a displacement of 1000 cc. Many new ideas were proposed by the engineers, but they were not accepted by the state authorities. Finally, in 1988, four-cylinder four-stroke engines produced by

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

were introduced. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0404-423, Pkw Wartburg 1

Closure after reunification

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0525-19, Opel

The German reunification of October 1990 meant the end for AWE, as due to its obsolete labour-intensive production assets it could not compete with modern Western German plants. However, locals wanted to save manufacturing jobs, and in March 1990

Adam Opel AG Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA G ...

concluded a collaboration agreement with the plant. Things moved fast, and on 5 October 1990, AWE and Opel together opened an assembly line for the

Opel Vectra The Opel Vectra is a mid-size car ( large family car) that was engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel from 1988 until 2010. Available in saloon, hatchback and estate body styles, the Vectra was also sold by the Vauxhall marque ...

. Guests at the accompanying celebrations included

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

.Geschichte Eisenachs ab 1990
, accessed on 19 September 2012 The

Treuhand The ("Trust agency"), colloquially referred to as , was an agency established by the government of the German Democratic Republic to reprivatise/ privatise East German enterprises, Volkseigene Betriebe (VEBs), prior to German reunification. C ...

agency closed AWE in April 1991, but a good number of the employees found work in the newly created

Opel Eisenach Opel Eisenach GmbH (formerly Opel AWE Planungs GmbH) is a German manufacturing company based at Eisenach in Thuringia, Germany and a subsidiary of Opel. It currently produces the Opel Grandland X. History In March 1990 Adam Opel AG and Automo ...

factory, opened in a Western Eisenach suburb in 1992. The former production site was used by an automotive parts company until 2018. While most of the factory has been demolished, one part (Building O2) has been preserved to house the Automobilbaumuseum Eisenach (Eisenach Car Museum).

Production table for cars manufactured 1898 - 1991

References

Car Museum Eisenach (German)

External links

Set of pictures of EMW 340

Photos from the abandoned AWE factory UK-based official Wartburg, Trabant and IFA owners' club
{{Authority control Volkseigene Betriebe German companies established in 1896 1991 disestablishments in Germany Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany BMW Eisenach Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1896 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1991 Car manufacturers of East Germany