The 1960's was a time of increased prosperity in the Western World, especially Europe as it shook off the effects of war. So how was German car production back then? Let's see.
Borgward Group: Making cars under the Goliath, Borgward, Hansa and Lloyd brands, it got into financial trouble and folded. Many of the engineers went to BMW.
Porsche: A small sports car maker at this time, volume was modest by today's standards.
Neckar: The company made Fiat cars under licence. When the NSU-Fiat branding became an issue with NSU, the name Neckar was adopted. Then when Fiat refused new models to to be used by the company, it went into decline as can be seen by the figures below.
Glas: Known for small cars like the Goggomobile, it also introduced sports cars at this time. Production volume was limited.
BMW: At the time well behind Mercedes Benz in size and also smaller than NSU and Auto Union (Audi). The 1500 model was released in 1962 and helped the company on the road to success.
Auto Union: An amalgamation of DKW, Audi, Horsch and Wanerer brands back in the 1930's. It's two stroke engines were going out of vogue, so concerned owner Mercedes-Benz (since 1959) quickly on-sold it to VW by 1965.
NSU: A progressive company, production numbers were solid and it marketed the Wankel engine at this time too.
Mercedes Benz: It became the big premium marque during this period, pulling away from it's faltering Auto Union brand.
Ford/GM: These two US car makers had prospering production numbers at this time, the latter under the Opel brand.
VW: A very popular seller in the 1960's, it had close to half of the total passenger car production.
Please note that the figures below are in thousands, so three zeros need to be added.
Borgward Group: Making cars under the Goliath, Borgward, Hansa and Lloyd brands, it got into financial trouble and folded. Many of the engineers went to BMW.
Porsche: A small sports car maker at this time, volume was modest by today's standards.
Neckar: The company made Fiat cars under licence. When the NSU-Fiat branding became an issue with NSU, the name Neckar was adopted. Then when Fiat refused new models to to be used by the company, it went into decline as can be seen by the figures below.
Glas: Known for small cars like the Goggomobile, it also introduced sports cars at this time. Production volume was limited.
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| The 1500 was a very important model for BMW. She looks impressed |
BMW: At the time well behind Mercedes Benz in size and also smaller than NSU and Auto Union (Audi). The 1500 model was released in 1962 and helped the company on the road to success.
Auto Union: An amalgamation of DKW, Audi, Horsch and Wanerer brands back in the 1930's. It's two stroke engines were going out of vogue, so concerned owner Mercedes-Benz (since 1959) quickly on-sold it to VW by 1965.
NSU: A progressive company, production numbers were solid and it marketed the Wankel engine at this time too.
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| The 200B with that classic 'Benz look at the time |
Mercedes Benz: It became the big premium marque during this period, pulling away from it's faltering Auto Union brand.
Ford/GM: These two US car makers had prospering production numbers at this time, the latter under the Opel brand.
VW: A very popular seller in the 1960's, it had close to half of the total passenger car production.
Please note that the figures below are in thousands, so three zeros need to be added.
| Yr | VW | GM | Ford | MB | NSU | A U | BM | Glas | Nec | Por | Llyd | Borg | Gol | Total |
| 60 | 787 | 351 | 193 | 123 | 30 | 126 | 44 | 37 | 34 | 8 | 38 | 37 | 9 | 1,817 |
| 61 | 878 | 358 | 238 | 137 | 36 | 106 | 40 | 35 | 41 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 1,903 |
| 62 | 1,027 | 360 | 277 | 146 | 56 | 108 | 44 | 32 | 50 | 8 | 1 | - | - | 2,109 |
| 63 | 1,043 | 555 | 358 | 153 | 76 | 94 | 50 | 29 | 44 | 10 | - | - | - | 2,412 |
| 64 | 1,225 | 672 | 307 | 166 | 87 | 79 | 55 | 27 | 22 | 11 | - | - | - | 2,651 |
Summary: Total production didn't grow as much as you would think. I believe that the US started to restrict imported cars from 1960 and this may have had some effect. Smaller car companies were falling by the wayside and those left would become stronger.
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