The modern car was invented in Germany. Karl Benz and Nicholas Otto developed the four-stroke combustion engine in the 1870s. Benz put his in a motorcoach in 1887 and had developed the first bus. In 1901 Germany was producing an estimated 900 cars a year. In 1926 Daimler-Benz was created and started making Mercedes-Benz. BMW began to produce its vehicles in 1928. US General Motors took over Opel in 1929, and Ford Motor Company opened a plant in Germany.

The depression caused a crisis for the German car manufacturers, and of the 86 car manufacturers that existed in the 20’s only 12 surveyed the depression.

The rise of Hitler was good for the car companies, and they recovered somewhat from the depression. Hitler pushed the building of autobahns and the Volkswagen project- to develop an inexpensive car for the German masses.

Most of the auto plants were destroyed or heavily damaged during World War II. The automakers rebuilt their plants. The Volkswagen Beetle was back in production in 1945 and by 1965 had sold 10 million Beetles. Mercedes Benz resumed production in 1946. GM resumed the Opel production in 1947 and Ford in 1948. Porsche started producing the 356 Sports Car in 1948. BMW released its BMW 501 and 502 in 1952.

East Germany produced several cars based on prewar designs.

The German auto industry today is considered highly competitive. It employs 857,336 workers, and the Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Porche are considered the top luxury brands in the world, except for the limited produces Rolls Royce and Bentley. German care manufactures are all working on a transition to electric cars.

The top five German Car Brands are:
Volkswagen: 5.7 million cars sold
Mercedes Benz 2.5 million cars
Audi 1.7 million cars sold
BMW 2 million cars sold
Porche 272,162 Learn about the Porsche Brand history