Restart after the end of the war: Cars for reconstruction - from 1944 to 1948

Europe in the early summer of 1945: Cities and factories lie in ruins, and even where the war left no trace of destruction, hardship and scarcity dominate everyday life. Nevertheless, car production is already ramping up, as the new vehicles are intended to make reconstruction and the dream of prosperity a reality.

Hardship, misery, and ruin dominated the landscape of Europe in the early summer of 1945 – the traces of World War II were omnipresent. Nevertheless, the desire for a new beginning and some prosperity was so strong that automobile production was immediately resumed. Vehicles for peaceful reconstruction and the hoped-for mass mobility, but also repaired military equipment for agricultural work: the automobile got everything rolling.

On May 25, 1945, the KdF city built for the Volkswagen became the city of Wolfsburg, and by late autumn, the VW plant began production of the Beetle on the orders of the British military government. Even earlier, the "Eisenach Vehicle Factory, formerly BMW," produced the pre-war BMW 321 on the orders of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov. The dismantling of this BMW plant was prevented by the workforce when they surprised Zhukov with a 321 assembled from spare parts. At BMW in Munich, however, it took until 1951 before the 501 model began production and revitalized the German luxury class.

As early as August 1945, Porsche received permission from the military government in Austria to develop vehicles, but then Ferdinand Porsche and Ferry Porsche were arrested, and so their sports car did not debut until 1948. By then, Mercedes, Ford and Opel had revived many models from the 1930s, only the Opel Kadett had to fill the role of a Soviet Volkswagen as a Moskvitch.

Small cars for big dreams

The French, Italians, and Swedes also launched affordable models: the Renault 4 CV, Fiat 500 Topolino, and "Humpback Volvo" were the names given to these small cars for big dreams.

They began in darkness, these first post-war years, and yet people could already see the light at the end of the tunnel, because as early as the summer of 1945, the first Grand Prix races were held in Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland, dominated by Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Maserati, but also BMW racing cars that had survived the war years well hidden.

On the one hand, many lacked the bare necessities; on the other, the longing for better times was so great that the first Paris Motor Show in 1946 thrilled an audience of millions. The German press even hailed this show as the "exhibition of exhibitions," even though models from the occupied zones across the Rhine were not yet permitted. The show's director, M. Mautin, summed it up: "The war had robbed people of their cars; this show gave them back. With it, life returned."

Cars on ration cards

As a symbol of the revival, the Renault 4 CV, the people's car, celebrated its world premiere in Paris, alongside the compact new Panhard Dyna X. Even more affordable—but like all cars, only available on a voucher—was the Simca 5, the French interpretation of the cult Fiat Topolino. The Citroën Traction Avant dominated the upper mid-range segment.

French cars, like British products, were initially intended to generate foreign currency, but the Gauls had largely sealed off their own market: tariff barriers, a perennial issue. Nevertheless, American models were ubiquitous at the time. For one thing, the Jeep, a war machine, celebrated by the media as the "liberator of German motor transport," was a civilian jeep that could perform around 50 functions in agriculture. A transmission driven by the engine even allowed it to operate threshing and harvesting machines.

A concept that was refined by the Unimog, developed from 1946 and later marketed by Mercedes, as a "universal motorized device for agriculture." And the British Land Rover also brought all the talents of the agricultural tractor to the forefront in 1948. On the other hand, the new models from Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors brought Hollywood glamour to the ruins and dreariness of the Old World, shaping the style of new stars like the Peugeot 203, Skoda Superb, and Volvo PV 444, but above all, of course, the models of the American subsidiaries Ford Europe (Taunus/Zephyr), Opel (Olympia Rekord and Kapitän), and Vauxhall (Wyvern EX).

New Look made of sheet metal

The first fashion breakthrough of the early postwar years came from Christian Dior, who founded his famous fashion house on the Seine in 1946 and, together with Pierre Cardin, created the "New Look." At the same time, a metal New Look shaped the automotive avant-garde, developed by the American Howard Darrin, who trained as a designer in Paris. With Darrin's American Kaiser Special, the simple pontoon shape without protruding fenders became fashionable in 1946.

European models such as the Standard Vanguard, Borgward Hansa, Fiat 1400, Lloyd LP, Ford "Weltkugel" Taunus and Opel Olympia Rekord followed the pontoon trend that characterized almost all new vehicles from 1950 onwards.

Cars without tires

But the still ubiquitous bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles were a reminder that truly affordable mass-produced models for vacations to the Baltic Sea, the Côte d'Azur, or romantic sunsets off Capri only became a reality for the majority in the second half of the 1950s. No wonder, given an average monthly household income of 268 marks.

First, the company had to survive the years of shortages. These included gasoline rationing and a shortage of raw materials: Skoda buyers even received their cars without tires.

While in Sweden and Italy, material shortages and strikes delayed the series launch of post-war Saab and Volvo, small Fiats, and luxurious Lancia and Alfa, in France, political constraints of a planned economy added to the mix. Citroën was subsequently responsible only for larger cars, which didn't facilitate the Europe-wide introduction of the minimalist 2 CV—the legendary "Duck."

Momentum through currency reform and Marshall Plan

In bomb-ravaged central England, Morris laid the foundation for the postwar boom with the affordable Minor, which helped Britain regain the second-highest motorization rate in Europe. In Germany, private transport had to start almost from scratch in 1945; apart from the two-stroke engines that the Wehrmacht had not confiscated, there were hardly any private cars. This changed dramatically within just four years; currency reform and the American Marshall Plan boosted the economy in the West.

Volkswagen from Wolfsburg, in particular, drove mass motorization. As early as 1955, the millionth Beetle rolled off the assembly line, and by 1972, the little bug even surpassed the Ford T as the world's most-produced car. The Beetle itself would have almost become a Ford had Henry Ford II not refused to take over the VW factory for free in 1948.

In the early 1950s, shortly after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the automotive world was once again as colorful as it had been in the 1930s. From small cars like the Kleinschnittger to two-stroke engines from DKW in Ingolstadt and IFA in Zwickau (East Germany), sports cars like the Porsche 356 to the state-supporting Mercedes 300 for Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, everything was there. The economic miracle had gained momentum, but that's another story.

Chronicle of Milestones 1944-48

1944

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  In September, Volvo presented the PV 444 as the first affordable Swedish-made vehicle at a motor show in Stockholm.
• In October, Ford Cologne sank ships carrying vehicle parts in the Rhine to prevent their destruction during bombing raids and to allow vehicle production to restart quickly after the end of the war.
• Peugeot starts developing the 203 model, which will replace the 202 and 402 models as a standard model in 1948.
• Louis Renault dies, but the small car project he launched, the Renault 4 CV, is pushed forward by the Renault company, which was nationalized after the end of the war.
• In England, the development of a small car designed by Alec Issigonis is finalized. The Morris Minor is to be built at the Cowley plant near Oyford. The English brand Austin begins planning a new small car, the A 40.

1945

• World War II ends in Europe in May and in the Pacific region in September. The first industrial plan of the Allied occupying powers limits West German automobile production to two standard models: a Ford truck and a Volkswagen car.
• On May 25, the KdF city, built for the production of the VW Beetle, became the city of Wolfsburg. The VW factory was now under the direction of British Major Ivan Hirst and began production of the VW Type 1 on the orders of the British military government.
• Also just a few months after the end of the war, on November 1, by order of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgi Zhukov, production of the pre-war BMW 321 model began at the "Eisenach Vehicle Factory, formerly BMW." The Eisenach BMW 321 was also sold in the western occupation zones.
• On August 8, the Porsche factory in Gmünd, Austria, received an operating license from the Allied military government to develop civilian equipment such as tractors and motor vehicles. Ferdinand Porsche and Ferry Porsche were arrested by the Allies.
• At the end of May, immediately after the end of the war, Carl FW Borgward received a production order for trucks from the Americans. At the end of the year, however, Borgward was arrested and remained imprisoned until 1946.
• In the autumn, Mercedes began repairing and manufacturing individual commercial vehicles despite the largely destroyed production facilities.

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  The Audi plants in Zwickau had to carry out repair work for the vehicles of the Soviet Military Administration, but from 1946 onwards, preparations were made for the production of new cars of the pre-war model DKW F8.
• In December, the "Central Depot for Auto Union Spare Parts GmbH" was founded in Ingolstadt. This was intended to ensure the supply of parts for the approximately 65,000 two-stroke models of the Meisterklasse and Reichsklasse series (not used by the Wehrmacht) still in existence in Germany.
• This year, 44 brands worldwide will start car production, with pre-war developments as well as completely new products. These include Aero (Czechoslovakia), Austin (Great Britain), BMW (Eisenach), Bobbi-Kar (USA), Cadillac (USA), Delahaye (France), De Soto (USA), Dodge (USA), Fiat (Italy), Ford (USA), Ford (Cologne, Commercial Vehicles), Ford (Great Britain), Hillman (Great Britain), Hudson (USA), Humber (Great Britain), Jaguar (Great Britain), Kaiser (USA), Kendall (Great Britain), Lincoln (USA), Martins Folkevogn (Denmark), Mazda (Japan), Mercedes-Benz (Germany), MG (Great Britain), Morris (Great Britain), Nash (USA), Oldsmobile (USA), Peugeot (France), Pontiac (USA), Renault (France), Riley (Great Britain), Rovin (France), Skoda (Czechoslovakia), Standard (Great Britain), Studebaker (USA), Sunbeam (Great Britain), Tatra (Czechoslovakia), Toyota (Japan), Volkswagen (Germany), Volvo (Sweden), Willys Jeep (USA), Wolseley (Great Britain), Zis (Soviet Union)

1946

• Albert Friedrich, former head of Daimler-Benz aircraft engine production, recognized the need for agricultural tractors in the agricultural sector. A team led by engineers Albert Friedrich, Heinrich Rößler, and Hans Zabel developed the first prototypes for such a 4x4 commercial vehicle in 1946. The project name "Universal Motor Device for Agriculture" gave rise to the abbreviation "Unimog." The Unimog debuted at the DLG trade fair in Frankfurt in 1948, and from 1951 onwards, Daimler-Benz took over production of the vehicle, previously built by Boehringer.
• In the Grand Palais of the Paris Motor Show, the first post-war innovations were presented to an enthusiastic audience, primarily French and American products. Therefore, Pinin Farina parked his extravagant exhibits, an Alfa Romeo Sport 2500 and a Lancia Aprilia Cabriolet, in front of the entrance to the Grand Palais, through which French President Georges Bidault led the international celebrities into the show's glass hall. The press celebrated the "Private Salon of Pinin Farina" as a sensation, and Pinin Farina became the first coachbuilder of the post-war era to achieve a global comeback.
• In total, around 60 brands started post-war production in 1946.
• Production of the Moskvitch 400, based on the former Opel Kadett, begins in the Soviet Union. The production line for the latter was delivered as reparations.
• From June, Mercedes 170s will be built as flatbed trucks, panel vans and ambulances for official use.
• On July 7, the Soviet Military Administration (SMAD) ordered the start of vehicle production at the Horch works in Zwickau.
• On July 15, the assembly lines at Opel in Rüsselsheim restarted after a war-related interruption. The first car was the Opel Blitz 1.5 ton.
• On October 14, the 10,000th Volkswagen is produced.
• Premiere and pre-series launch of the Renault 4 CV, which is also sold in the French occupation zone in Germany.
• The English Standard Vanguard is introduced in a groundbreaking pontoon shape and from the following year also becomes one of the most popular import models in Germany.
• The most important innovations of 1946 include the Alfa Romeo 6 C 2500 Sport (Italy), Allard Sports (Great Britain), Alvis 14 (Great Britain), Armstrong-Siddeley 16 (Great Britain), Bentley Mark VI (Great Britain), Bristol 400 (Great Britain), Buick Special and Super (USA), Checker Cab (USA), Chevrolet Sedan (USA), Chrysler New Yorker and Crown Imperial (USA), Citroen Traction Avant (France), Daimler 2 1/2 Litre (Great Britain), Delage 3 Litres (France), Healey 2.4 Litre (Great Britain), Hindustan Eight (India), Hino (Japan), Hotchkiss 686 (France), Jensen 4 Litre (Great Britain), Jowett Javelin (Great Britain), Lanchester Ten (Great Britain), Lancia Ardea, Aprilia (Italy), Lea-Francis 14 (Great Britain), Lincoln Continental (USA), Maserati A6 1500 (Italy), Mercedes-Benz 170 V (Germany), Mercury Sedan V8 (USA), Morgan 4/4 (Great Britain), Moskvitch 400 (Soviet Union), Opel Blitz 1.5 to (from 1947 also Olympia and a little later Kapitän, Germany), Packard Clipper (USA), Panhard Dyna 110 (France), Plymouth de Luxe (USA), Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (Great Britain), Rover Ten (Great Britain), Salmson S-4 (France), Simca 5 (France), Singer (Great Britain), Stout Airstream (USA), Talbot Lago Record (France), Triumph 1800 (Great Britain), Tucker Torpedo (USA), Vauxhall 10, 12 (Great Britain).

1947

• The export fair in Hanover acts as a precursor to the IAA, where German car manufacturers present their new products until 1949.
• In 1950, the first post-war IAA debuted as an "auto show" in West Berlin, and in April 1951, the first IAA took place in Frankfurt am Main.
• The British occupying forces sought a buyer for the VW plant. Sir William Rootes, owner of the British automobile company Rootes Group, was the first to receive an offer, but he declined. In March 1948, the British offered the Wolfsburg plant to Henry Ford II free of charge, but after consulting with his advisor Ernest Breech, Henry Ford II deemed the plant worthless and decided against the takeover.
• Carrozzeria Pinin Farina, founded in 1930, is considered the world's most prominent address in coachbuilding and is allowed to exhibit the Cisitalia 202 it designed as the very first automotive work of art in the New York Museum of Modern Art.
• A total of 33 brands will start post-war production this year.
• Delivery of the first Volvo PV 444 will take place on February 3; Volvo has already received 10,000 orders for this model.
• On June 4, a prototype of the 92 was shown to Saab management. The press launch took place just six days later, on June 10.
• The English mass manufacturer Austin is presenting the new A40 in various American cities.
• In August, French media reported that Peugeot was preparing the post-war 203.

• Development of the 501 model, launched in 1951, begins at BMW in Munich. On June 11, the Porsche 356 "VW Sports Car" project with an air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine starts at Porsche in Gmünd, Austria.
• In October, Mercedes celebrated the delivery of the 1,000th 170 V vehicle.
• On July 25, the occupation authorities granted Opel permission to resume car production. 25,952 units of the pre-war Opel Olympia were built until 1949. The first German six-cylinder car in post-war Germany was the Opel Kapitän, also a continuation of the pre-war model and initially available exclusively as a four-door sedan.
• The Italian Fiat Group has had a production facility in Germany since 1929 through the takeover of the NSU plant in Heilbronn, and post-war production is now being prepared.
• The DKW-IFA F8, which was built in series in Zwickau from 1949 as the IFA F8, made its debut at the Leipzig Trade Fair.
• Other important innovations of 1947 include: AC 2 Litre (Great Britain), Bugatti Type 73 (France), Datsun Thrift (Japan), Ferrari 125 S (Italy), Ford France Vedette (France), Frazer-Nash Sports (Great Britain), Gutbrod Transporter (Germany), Isotta-Fraschini 8C (Italy), Lagonda 2 1/2 Litre (Great Britain), NSU-Fiat (Germany), Pobjeda M20 (Soviet Union), Rosengart Super-Trahuit (France) and Zagato MM 750 (Italy).

1948

• In 1947, the British Control Commission entrusted former Opel manager Heinrich Nordhoff with the leadership of Volkswagen and appointed Nordhoff General Director of Volkswagenwerk GmbH with effect from 1 January 1948.

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  In October, the Allied occupying powers lifted the regulation in Germany that only cars with an engine capacity of less than 1.5 liters could be built.
• On April 30, the first Land Rover will debut at the Amsterdam Motor Show.
• The Morris Minor debuts at the London Earls Court Motor Show.
• At the export trade fair in Hanover, Ford unveiled the first prototype of a post-war Taunus. Production of the Taunus began on October 1, with detailed modifications to the interior and technology, now under the internal code G73A.
• The production version of the Citroën 2 CV, whose development began before the war, debuted at the Paris Motor Show. The Peugeot 203 debuted next door.

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  In July, Carl FW Borgward was found to have a minor offense in the denazification process. Borgward was allowed to re-enter his factory in Bremen and prepared the launch of the Lloyd LP and Borgward Hansa production models with pontoon bodies. He also founded "Goliath Werk GmbH."
• One year later, Auto Union GmbH was founded in Ingolstadt