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First German Car
Carl-Friedrich Benz builds and patents the first petrol car, a three-wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion engine and electric ignition. only a few hundred of these first models were made but the original travels the world being special exhibits at museums. -
First Motor Company
Gottlieb Daimler from Stuttgart builds a car and starts the motor company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. -
The First Drive
1888: Bertha Benz and her sons carry out what is probably the world's most successful marketing stunt. They undertook the first 'long-distance drive' (fromMannheim to Pforzheim, a distance of about 90 kilometres) to demonstrate that the 'horseless carriage' was suitable for everyday use. This created a ton of publicity, it would be compared to a modern day person watching flying car cruise around. -
First International Motor Show
The first International Motor Show (IAA) takes place at the Hotel Bristol in Berlin with eight motor cars on display. This show still exists today and creates publicity for new technology and modern advancements that are being displayed to the public for the first time. -
BMW Takes Over Aircraft Manufacturer
Aircraft manufacturer Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke (BFW) is established in Bavaria. Six years later, the site was taken over by BMW. This was the start to one of the largest car producing companies in the world. -
Gesellschaft and Benz merge
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. merge to form Daimler-Benz AG. This caused larger and faster production of vehicles this also impacted revenue in a positive way. -
The First Beetle
The first VW Beetle rolls off the production line in Wolfsburg. This car instantly became famous because of its unique shape and driving capability, this car was the most exported car in 1949 -
Volkswagon bus
Series production of the Type 2 T1 Volkswagen bus (camper van) begins. Demand was so great that a dedicated plant was opened in Hannover just six years later. This camper offered space, reliability and comfort still getting decent gas mileage and attracting a lot of attention. -
Post War
Affordable, 'bubble cars' such as the BMW Isetta became very popular in the post-war era. Not many of these cars made it to the United States. -
First Trabant
The state-owned car plant in Zwickau, formerly the Audi factory, produces the first Trabant. This East German compact car had an outer shell made of plastic, earning it the nickname the 'cardboard racer'. -
First 911
The Porsche 911, probably Germany's best known sports car, goes into production. -
The Last Trabi
German reunification marks the end of an era for East German cars, and on 30 April the last 'Trabi' rolls off the production line, straight into the museum. April direkt vom Fließband ins Museum. -
Beetle Becomes Big
The Volkswagen beetle became the worlds most popular car in 2000, by 2003 the 22 billion beetles were made total. later that year production was stopped but to be continued a few years later, they did this because sales were decreasing and Volkswagen wanted people to be excited for when they released it once again.
