Lecture at the Audi museum mobile: The “New Plant” – the history of the Auto Union plant in Ingolstadt
The company today known as Audi was once “Auto Union”. The plant with the four rings on Ettinger Strasse, now as big as the Principality of Monaco, was built in the late 1950s on a greenfield site on the outskirts of Ingolstadt. Audi historian Ralf Friese will recount how it all began in his lecture on Wednesday, November 15, entitled “The ‘New Plant’ – The History of the Auto Union Plant on Ettinger Strasse”. The lecture begins at 6 PM at the Audi museum mobile; registration is required.
Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer merged to form Auto Union AG in 1932. The new company was headquartered in Chemnitz. After the Second World War, the Soviet Union dismantled most of the four brands’ plants in East Germany. However, some former Auto Union employees were able to make a fresh start in the West as early as the end of 1945 – initially with a central depot for Auto Union spare parts in Ingolstadt. They worked for several years at various locations in downtown Ingolstadt until 1958, when the cornerstone was laid for a new Auto Union plant on the city's outskirts. By December of that year, the building on Ettinger Strasse was structurally complete, and production of the DKW Junior began in the summer of 1959.
To register for the lecture at the Audi museum mobile, email veranstaltungen.museum@audi.de or call +49 841 89-34433. Registration will end on Monday, November 13. The event begins at 6 PM on Wednesday, November 15; doors open at 5:30 PM.
Notice for media professionals: You are cordially invited – please register in advance by emailing daniela.henger@audi.de.
