Audi Tradition

Audi Tradition 34

Anniversary Dates 2020

Neckarsulm Site

140 years

In 1873, the mechanics Christian Schmidt and Heinrich Stoll had established a mechanical workshop in Riedlingen for producing knitting machines. When the partners separated, in 1880 Schmidt relocated the company with its seven workers and two office staff to Neckarsulm, where it continued to produce knitting machines in larger premises.

taken over and run by his brother-in-law Gottlob Banzhaf. From 1886 onwards, bicycles were made with a high and low frame; by 1889 the young company already had 60 employees. The first brush with automotive manufacturing during this period came with the production of the undercarriages for the Daimler steel-wheeled car. Production of knitting machines ended in 1892 due to a lack of demand; from 1897 the company traded as “Neckarsulmer Fahrradwerke AG”. In the period that followed, motorcycles and auto­ mobiles were manufactured in Neckarsulm, and for a while NSU was the biggest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. The autonomy of the long-established Neckarsulm company ended with the Volkswagen-­ driven merger of NSU Motorenwerke AG with the Ingolstadt-based Auto Union GmbH. Audi NSU Auto Union AG was established on 21 August 1969, and ultimately the completion of the last Ro 80 in March 1977 represented the end of the NSU brand.

In 1884, also in Neckarsulm, he founded “Neckarsulmer Strickmaschinenfabrik AG”, which after he died was