electric

The “Volksauto”

In the early 1930s, in the year 1931, Germany was plagued by a severe recession and had one of the worst motorization rates in Europe. Most of its factories specialized in luxury cars, assembled by hand, and still very expensive.

Since 1925, a basic concept very similar to what would become the  Beetle It already existed, a work by the engineer Béla Barényi (a famous designer, responsible for several passive safety improvements). In the following years, several prototypes and models emerged, such as the Superior, from the Standard firm, designed by the Hungarian Joseph Ganz – this model was even relatively cheap, around 1500 marks.