German Car Brands Names – List And Logos Of German Cars
A little German cars history
German car companies have a history of manufacturing high class
vehicles where performance is more important than appearance. Following
the “function over form” principle, German car brands focus on
functionality and quality. These valuable qualities make Germany the
leader of auto production in Europe, and place it among the top 5
countries in the whole world for vehicle manufacturing. With an annual
output of 6 million, German cars are some of the most innovative
vehicles in the world.
Top German Car Brands Logos
The massive history of German cars began in 1870, with the
four-stroke internal combustion engine invented by the mechanic
engineers Karl Benz and Nikolaus Otto. After this invention, Germany
started producing about a thousand vehicles per year.
Company Names, and List & Logos of All German Car Brands
The different German automakers are recognized for producing the best
automobiles in the world. Besides high-quality, German vehicles bring
exceptional design, great technologies and unbelievable speed on the
market. They are also known for providing an exclusive drive experience.
The most popular makes come with an impressive collection of both
sports and luxury cars, that are incredibly stylish and high performance
vehicles. Continue reading to see the list of German car brands names,
and logos of the companies that manufacture them.
Most Popular German Car Companies
These are the most popular car manufacturers from Germany, that
include BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche. As you can
see, most of these manufacturers are luxury car makes, and have greatly
increased the standard of automobiles worldwide.
Audi – “Truth in Engineering”
Audi Logo
History: Founded in 1909 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Audi is definitely
one of the most important companies that designs, engineers, produces,
markets and distributes vehicles. The company was named after its
founder’s surname – August Horch – which in German means “listen”. Later
on, in July 1909, Audi Automobilwerke was set up. Back in 1932, the
company merged with Horch, DKW and Wanderer in order to form Auto Union
UG. Now, this event explains the four interlinked rings of the Audi
logo. Since 1966, the company has been part of Volkswagen Group.
Stats: Today, Audi’s sales keep growing. In 2013, Audi sales went up
8.3%. The main sales areas remain Eastern Europe, Africa and Middle
East. Back in 2009, China was the strongest actor, since it imported
108,000 out of a total of 705,000 vehicles.
Audi Sedan
Models: Audi sedans (A1-A8), Audi coupés and SUVs, S (sport) and RS (Renn Sport/Racing) models.
Audi’s most popular models include Audi A8, Audi TT, Audi A3, Audi A6
and Audi A1. This classification is based on the number of sales.
German car fans probably know that, in 2013, the top 5 best selling audi
models were the following: AUDI A3 – 202,300 units and all SUVs
combined totaled 438,400 items.
Mercedes Benz
Mercedes Benz Logo
This German luxury car making company has been around for more than a
century. It is definitely the oldest auto makers in existence. Known in
the auto industry for its limousines, which can be seen in the most
famous movies, Mercedes Benz produces some of the best vehicles in the
world. Since the beginning, Mercedes has lead the market with an
innovative combination of style and technology. With time, the company
garnered an extensive list of models including luxury cars, trucks,
buses, limousines and vans.
Mercedes Benz Coupe
All Mercedes vehicle categories include passenger cars (CLA-Class,
C-Class, GLK, R-Class, E-Class Wagon, CLS-Class, S-Class), luxury cars
(CLA-Class, C-Class, E-Class, R-Class, E-Class Wagon, CLS-Class, S-Class
Hybrid, S-Class, SL-Class, CL-Class), sports cars (SLK, SLS),
SUVs/CROSSOVERS (GLK, M-Class, M-Class Hybrid, GL-Class, G-Class), vans
and minivans (Sprinter).
Mercedes-Benz’s luxury cars: Limousines
The fancy world of automobiles was marked by Mercedes-Benz 600, the
luxurious vehicle that came in two different models: a short wheelbase
4-door sedan, a long wheelbase 4-door Pullman limousine and a 6-door
limousine. Their production began in 1964. In 1972, 600 models came out
on the market.
Famous people who owned this model included Coco Chanel, Hugh Hefner, Elizabeth Taylor, John Lennon, etc.
The most popular class of Mercedes sedans is Mercedes Benz CLA, that
in 2013 brought the company sales of 100,000 units since its launch in
April 2013. The highest demand was in US, as 27,000 units were sold
there.
BMW
BMW Logo
BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke or Bavarian Motor Works. The
success comes from its focus on the engine, which was improved by
generations of engineers over the years. The brand put a lot of effort
into quality and into a constant pursuit of excellence, which makes it
one of the most important manufacturers in the industry.
BMW Convertible
BMW became an automaker in 1929 and ever since then has been known
for crafting luxury cars and SUVs that offer amazing driving
experiences. BMW produces passenger cars, luxury cars, sports cars, SUVs
and Pickup trucks.
BMW’s luxury cars
The BMW Group achieved record sales in May 2014. It reported that
sales in China helped boost its first-quarter profit by 11% in 2014.
This makes BMW the world’s leading premium luxury car maker.
The most popular BMW models, that achieve top sales, are BMW X-
vehicles. The demand for sport-utility vehicles led the mother-company
to fruitful gains.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Logo
Volkswagen was founded in 1937 by Ferdinand Porsche. Back then, the
German company was entirely composed of luxury cars, meaning that only
one German out of 50 bought a vehicle. Known as “the car of the people”,
the brand is known nowadays to produce the best German autos. Today
Volkswagen remains a model of success, as it managed to acquire SEAT,
Skoda, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti.
Wolksvagen Van
Out of all models, Volkswagen Golf is the most affordable one in
Europe. According to JATO Dynamics study, in January, its sales grew by
28 percent. Studies also show that, for 2012 and 2013, the VW divisions
that led the market were Audi, Skoda, Seat, VW Commercial Vehicles,
Porsche, MAN, Scania and Bentley.
Porsche
Porsche Logo
Porsche is an active automobile manufacturer company that mostly
specializes in producing sedans, hypercars, supercars, SUVs and sports
cars. While this German company isn’t the most popular auto manufacturer
nowadays, it surely gained a great reputation in the late 80s and early
90s. Some of the most popular Porsche models include the 918, Macan,
Cayenne, Cayman, Boxter, and Panamera.
Other Active German Auto Manufacturers
These are some other active German automakers that are producing
vehicles to date. These may not be very popular worldwide, but these
have their own brand name in their home country, Germany. So they have
their own role in the economy and contribute to the automotive world.
Adam Opel AG
Adam Opel AG
- Years: 1862 – Present
- Headquarters: Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany
- Founder/Parent Company: Adam Opel
- Website: http://www.opel.com/
Adam Opel AG has been in the business of manufacturing cars for more
than 153 years. The company was at first a manufacturer of bicycles, but
after seeing the creation of the first vehicle, the company shifted its
interest to automobiles and manufactured their first vehicle in 1899.
You might have noticed a few of the vehicles manufactured by Opel in
some mafia or gangster movies for sure.
Alpina
Alpina
Alpina is another German company that was founded way back in 1965.
Although the company isn’t hugely popular, it is still active and works
with BMW to manufacture its own cars. Much of the company’s processes
are integrated into BMW’s production lines and the company is still
popular in a few areas in Germany.
Bitter Cars
Bitter Cars
Founded by Erich Bitter, a former race car driver, the Erich Bitter
Automobil GmbH (Bitter) is a premium sports and luxury automaker in
Germany. Bitter Cars hasn’t exactly been able to gain a lot of
popularity, but it is only because of its luxurious, yet sporty cars
that the company is still present and manufacturing cars to date!
Gumpert
Gumpert
- Years: 2004 – Present
- Headquarters: Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany
- Founder/Parent Company: Roland Gumpert
- Website: http://www.gumpert.de/
Gumpert is another active automobile manufacturer that although has
been in the business of manufacturing automobiles for quite some time
now but has been unable to gain universal popularity, like Volkswagen,
BMW, and Audi. It is generally a supercar manufacturing company and has
made numerous appearances in Top Gear in the form of its famous ‘Apollo
Racecar’.
Isdera
Isdera
- Years: 1969 – Present
- Headquarters: Hildesheim, Germany
- Founder/Parent Company: Eberhard Schulz
- Website: http://www.isdera.de/
Isdera, officially known as ‘Ingenieurbüro für Styling, Design und
Racing’ is one of those German car companies that was privately owned.
The company focuses mainly on producing sports cars that are built by a
small team of craftsmen. And you know what the fun part is? One of the
vehicles has also made its appearance in ‘
Need for Speed II’, the popular racing video game released in 1997.
Keinath
Keinath
- Years: 1983 – Present
- Headquarters: Reutlingen, Germany
- Founder/Parent Company: Horst Keinath
- Website: Not Available
Most of the car manufacturers in Germany focus on creating sports
cars, race cars and luxury cars. Keinath is another automobile
manufacturer that has been in the businesses of producing race cars
since 1983. The company generally began creating automobiles by
producing a variant of the popular Opel Monza and then went on to create
the GTR that was highly sporty, stylish and incredibly powerful.
Non-Active German Car Makes List
These defunct German auto manufacturing companies are no longer in
existence, but helped form a name for Germany in the auto industry. Auto
Union AG and DKW for example, helped form the famous brand today, Audi.
Adler
Adler
- Years: 1900 – 1957
- Headquarters: Not Available
- Founder/Parent Company: Heinrich Kleyer
- Website: Not Available
Adler was among the few German car manufacturers to gain popularity
during the early 1900s. They successfully manufactured a total of 30
vehicles, all of which were unique in their own way. Apart from
vehicles, the company also produced a range of other items, including
typewriters, bicycles, and motorcycles.
Auto Union AG
Auto Union AG
- Years: 1932 – 1966
- Headquarters: Chemnitz (1932-1948), Ingolstadt (1949-1968), Ingolstadt/Audi AG(1985-present)
- Founder/Parent Company: Not Available
- Website: Not Available
You can take a wild guess by observing the logo that Auto Union is
what we know as ‘Audi’ today! Mind blown? Well, it’s true! Auto Union
was responsible for a number of popular vehicles during the early 1930s,
but later it was acquired by Volkswagen and then evolved into Audi.
DKW
DKW
- Years: 1928 – 1966
- Headquarters: Saxony, Germany
- Founder/Parent Company: Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen
- Website: Not Available
Take a wild guess again! Yes, as you can see from the picture above,
DKW was an automobile manufacturer that merged with Auto Union AG. The
company, before the merger, introduced its first steam car in 1919 and
then later after merging with Auto Union released its last car in 1966.
Apart from automobiles, the company was also a famous manufacturer of
motorcycles.
Borgward
Borgward
- Years: 1929 – 1961
- Headquarters: Bremen, Germany
- Founder/Parent Company: Carl F. W. Borgward
- Website: Not Available
Borgward was a popular German Automobile Manufacturer back in the
late 30s. The company was established in Bremen and was quite successful
for a long time. It was able to produce four separate car divisions,
all of which were highly impressive. These included the Lloyd, Goliath,
Hansa, and Bogward itself. The automobile manufacturer ended because of
bankruptcy.
Eisenacher Motorenwerk(EMW)
Eisenacher Motorenwerk(EMW)
- Years: 1945 – 1956
- Headquarters: Eisenach, Germany
- Founder/Parent Company: Not Available
- Website: Not Available
Eisenacher Motorenwerk, often abbreviated as (EMW) was an East German
Automobile manufacturing company. It was based in Eisenach and was
popular for producing sports cars and formula one cars way back in the
1950s. The company also ended due to bankruptcy.
