Private company

DKW

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

German car and motorcycle marque, now Audi

DKW was a German car and motorcycle marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto Union in 1932 and thus became an ancestor of the modern-day Audi company. In 1916, Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Zschopau, Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings.2 It ceased to exist in 1966.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1916Founded1
  • Industryautomotive industry1
  • HeadquartersChemnitz1
  • Founded inChemnitz1
  • Legal formjoint-stock company1

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DKW 6.3 cc model airplane motor (1938)
Photo: Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons5

DKW was a German car and motorcycle marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto Union in 1932 and thus became an ancestor of the modern-day Audi company.2

Corporate structure

DKW is part of a group headed by Auto Union. 3 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Founded by Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen in 1916, in Chemnitz.1

Leadership

Who has led DKW, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Products and brands

  • car

Listed on Wikidata.1

Vans and utility vehicles

The DKW Munga was built by Auto Union in Ingolstadt. Production began in October 1956 and ended in December 1968, with 46,750 cars built.

From 1949 to 1962, DKW produced the Schnellaster with a trailing-arm rear suspension system with springs in the cross bar assembly. Spanish subsidiary IMOSA produced a modern successor introduced in 1963, the DKW F 1000 L. This van started with the three-cylinder 1,000 cc engine, but later received a Mercedes-Benz Diesel engine and was renamed a Mercedes-Benz in 1975.

Pre-war production

DKW Typ P (1928–1933) 5,228 units

DKW Typ 4=8 (1930–1932) 4,693 units

Read the full text

Sonderklasse 432 (1932–1933) 966 units

Sonderklasse 1001, Sonderklasse 1002 (1933–1935) 6,264 units

Schwebeklasse (1934–1937) 6,999 units

Sonderklasse 37 (1937–1940) 10,472 units

DKW F1 (1931–1932) 4,353 units

DKW F2 Meisterklasse (1932–1935) 8,441 units

DKW F2 Reichsklasse (1933–1935) 18,591 units

DKW F3 (1933-1935) 224 units

DKW F4 (1934–1935) 7,900 units

DKW F5 Reichsklasse (1935–1937) 30,596 units

DKW F5 Meisterklasse (1935–1937) 32,901 units

DKW F5 Cabriolet (1935–1938) 6,374 units

DKW F5 Einheits two seater (1935–1936) 998 units

DKW F5K 600 (1936–1937) 1,450 units

DKW F5K 700 (1936–1937) 1,166 units

DKW F5 Roadster (1935–1938) 407 units

DKW F5 Lieferwagen (1935–1937) 765 units

DKW F6 ≈(1936) ? units

DKW F7 Reichsklasse (1936–1939) 50,842 units

DKW F7 Meisterklasse (1937–1939) 41,656 units

DKW F7 Cabriolet (1937–1939) 2,941 units

DKW F7 Lieferwagen (1937–1939) 2,266 units

DKW F8 Reichsklasse (1938–1942) 14,750 units into the war.

DKW F8 Meisterklasse (1938–1942) 19,405 units into the war.

DKW F8 Meister Super (1939–1941) 1,379 units into the war.

DKW F8 Cabriolet (1938–1942) 3,436 units into the war.

DKW F8 Lieferwagen (1939–1942) 9,517 units into the war.

DKW F9 prototype (1939-1942) 12 units

Production figures for DKW cars in 1933 amounted to 16,000 vehicles.

Pre-war and war-years production of civilian models totalled almost 250,000 units, of which some 218,000 were front-wheel driven.

DKW engines and stationary engines, boat engines, aircraft engines, agricultural engines

The engine division of DKW is underestimated in terms of its importance to the company.

In the autumn of 1921, the 10,000th DKW engine was produced. In February 1924, the next anniversary was reached with the 50,000th engine.

From Wikipedia’s article on DKW, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1966Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1916Founded Founded in Chemnitz1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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