"Life" journey of German cars

Germany is the birthplace of modern cars and the oldest country with the longest history of automobile production. Since Karl Benz has invented the first car in 1886, the German automotive industry has gone through more than 130 years of development.

As the largest pillar industry in Germany, the German automotive industry is known as the "Pearl in the Crown of Manufacturing", which has created unimaginable value for the German economy. Among them, there are nearly one million jobs.

Looking back at the century -old history, the development of the German automotive industry is the same as other countries in the world. It has experienced multiple stages from birth to rapid growth, from falling into the trough to bottoming and rebounding. Society and culture are closely linked. It can even be said that in a certain sense, I read the German automotive industry and read half of the manufacturing industry in Germany.

"childhood"

In the 1870s, the Western Second Industrial Revolution wave rose. The Germans seized the opportunity. In just 30 years, the British had completed the industrialization path that the British had only completed for more than 100 years, and quickly ranked among the world's industrialization.

During this period, many people in Europe were quietly developing "cars". However, everyone considers how to install the power device on a ready -made carriage, including Karl Benz and Godlib Daimler.

Later, due to the invention of internal combustion engines, Germany began to emerge in many automotive factories, and research and development ideas have also begun to change to diversified. In 1886, 42 -year -old Karl Benz obtained a car invention patent with the "three -wheeled monster" with a horizontal cylinder and a large horizontal flywheel engine with his invention, and founded Mercedes -Benz Automotive Corporation. In the same year, 52 -year -old Geterbed Daimler and his friend William Maybach installed the latest vertical engine on a four -wheeled carriage, successfully invented the first Daimler car, and then the two jointly founded Daimler Motor Company.

In 1901, there were only 12 auto factories in Germany, 1,773 employees, and 884 vehicles with an annual output. By 1908, German automobile manufacturers had 53, with 12,400 employees, and 5,547 vehicles with annual output. Before the First World War, the German automotive industry had basically formed an independent industrial department. There were more than 50,000 car manufacturing workers, and the annual output of automobiles reached 20,000, second only to the United States.

Berlin in Germany, a BMW brand car distribution store. Photo by Zhang Ping (Xinhua News Agency)

Why can Germany quickly develop from a backward feudal country after the 1870s and surpass Britain and France to jump in the first industrial power of Europe? There are four factors that should be more important:

First, under the leadership of the "Iron Blood Prime Minister" Bismarck, Prussia finally completed the unity of Germany in 1871 and founded a unified domestic market and a unified economic environment, which greatly promoted German capitalist industrial and agricultural and agriculture. develop.

Secondly, Germany defeated France in the PMS war in 1870. It not only plundered the 5 billion Jinsuro war compensation from France, but also annexed Alsace and Lorraine, all of which provided strong support for the development of the German industrial revolution.

Third, it is similar to the development of the development of other capitalist countries. The development of Germany during this period also has a strong "bloody smell", which is very serious for the exploitation and squeezing of the people.

Fourth, the development of science and technology has made German productive forces rapidly. The breakthrough in German science and technology not only changed the German itself, but also had far -reaching significance for the development of the world economy.

The "childhood" of the German automotive industry can be described as full of time, geographical, people. This is why its birth process is so smooth.

"youth"

From 1911 to 1940, the German automotive industry entered a stage of steady development. In these 30 years, the emergence of new technologies and perfectly played the most important role.

Europe before the outbreak of World War I was basically in the era of steam engines. Therefore, the people at the time called the "Steaming Machine Contest", and the "contest of internal combustion engines" was a matter of the Second World War.

Although the World War I had brought serious adverse effects on the development of the German automotive industry, after the war, the Germans recovered their vitality in only about 10 years, and the degree of economic prosperity even greater than before the World War I. Among them, from 1923 to 1929, it was known as the "golden 190s" in the German automotive industry. During this time, Germany not only developed rapidly in the automotive industry, but also matured quickly.

In 1933, due to well -known reasons, the construction plan of highway construction and the "national car" production plan that had been planned during the period of Weimar was put on the "National Sentence Gauge". This is of great significance for Germany, which has just experienced the Great Economic Depression in the late 1920s and early 1930s. After all, the prospect of the automotive industry is too attractive, and the rapidly developing highway network also adds a fire to the German automotive industry that has just "adults".

Later in the same year, Ferdinand Bolshe, who had enjoyed a prestigious car design field at that time, was invited to Berlin to discuss the research and development of "national cars". After the meeting, Bolshe was fully trusted by the government and accepted the task of designing a new civilian car.

In 1936, the new plant was built, and new cars can be put into production at any time. This place is convenient to be the famous Wolfsburg in history, and it is also the headquarters of Volkswagen Group.

In May 1937, Volkswagen Corporation was established. Three months later, the first Volkswagen car developed by Borsher was launched. This is the well -known Volkswagen "Beetle" sedan. After a severe test of 50,000 kilometers, the performance is still reliable. Unfortunately, the first batch of more than 200 "Beetle" did not invest in the market, but was delivered to the Germans and became a tool for combat reserve. Before the outbreak of World War II, the German automotive industry had a considerable foundation. Daimler -Benz, Audi, Volkswagen and other automotive companies had formed a certain production scale, which laid the growth of German automobile industry to the world's "Pearl in the Crown of Manufacturing". The foundation.

In Berlin, Germany, two pedestrians wearing masks passed a Mercedes-Benz brand car distribution store. Photo by Zhang Ping (Xinhua News Agency)

From 1941 to 1960 was the rapid development of the German automotive industry. During this time, the more mature German automotive industry stood at the crossroads of life and death again and again.

The ups and downs of this era was forced to participate in an unprecedented war in the early stage, and then experienced the difficult rebirth after the war. It was not until the 1950s that it really ushered in a new period of rapid development.

After the outbreak of World War II, all German car companies were required to "turn into military production and serve all military." After the huge war machine was turned on, all the German car giants had no direction. They could only be wrapped in war. They could build a vehicle to build a car and build an engine engine.

At that time, in addition to being requisitioned as officers, Mercedes-Benz cars were also transformed to produce trucks. Mercedes-Benz engines were applied to such as BF-109 fighters; the Hohshi engines made by Audi were generally applied to reconnaissance vehicles and military trucks; BMW BMW; BMW Forced to interrupt the RV market, which has just begun to develop, and produces heavy motorcycles such as the German army R71 and R75; the public has developed a number of off -road vehicles, reconnaissance vehicles, water and land amphibious vehicles and other military vehicles on the chassis of "Beetle"; The high -end designer's Maybach is not idle. The German tanks that are still familiar with the No. 3, No. 4, Leopard, Tiger -style, and Tiger King are still equipped with the engines developed by Maybach.

By the end of World War II, most of the German car factories suffered severe damage and sorrow.

Germany can surpass Britain and France again, becoming the first economic power in Europe, and it is inseparable from the strong rebound of the automotive industry. Relying on the knowledge in the "mind", the German automotive industry magically rose again from a broken wall. In 1950, Federal German car output reached 300,000. Automotive products in the German market are rapidly popularized, automobile exports have continued to increase, international competitiveness has steadily increased, and the German automotive industry has returned to rapid development.

By 1960, the annual output of German automobiles had reached 2 million, an increase of 5.7 times in 10 years, with an average annual growth rate of 21%. Germany has also become the largest car producer and exporter in Europe.

"middle aged"

Since the 60 years since 1961, under the blessing of high -tech in the German automobile industry, the production and quality have increased from Germany to the world, which has achieved the glory of the German manufacturing industry, and has also embarked on the road of transformation with pain.

During the Cold War, due to the different social systems, there was a big gap in the development of the East and West. Until the end of the 1980s, the German automotive industry had been adjusted and reorganized. Since then, with the acceleration of European integration, the German automotive industry has ushered in another golden period for development.

Since the 1960s, the Federal German automotive industry has continued to grow at a higher speed. Automotive manufacturers have also experienced a round of shuffling in fierce competition, from more than 100 to more than 10. However, the number of manufacturers has decreased significantly, but its total car output has continued to increase. Moreover, many modern technologies are widely used in the automotive industry.

However, just when all the time is prosperous, the twists and turns are not invited again.

In 1971, the annual output of German cars reached 4 million. At this time, German families have basically popularized cars, and the domestic market has fallen into saturation; external demand is topped, and exports have stopped. The influence of the two oil crisis was superimposed, and the German automotive industry began to show a trend of low -speed growth.

Data show that throughout the 1970s, German automobile production has been hovering between 3 million and 4 million vehicles; by the 1980s, it only fluctuated between 4 million and 5 million vehicles. The German automotive industry has fallen into the "middle -aged crisis."

Since the late 1990s, the global automobile industry has set off a wave of mergers. During this period, a number of attractive major reorganizations and joint mergers incidents occurred in the German automotive industry, including Daimler -Benz Motor Corporation and Chrysler Motor Corporation in 1998. The company acquires Rolls -Royce Company and so on.

In the 21st century, due to the influence of the euro, the German automobile industry once again faced global sales decline after experiencing the glory of 2010 and 2011.

To solve this problem, the German automotive industry has shifted its attention to developing countries including China and Brazil. Statistics show that at that time, only 10%of German automotive parts companies still insisted on new investment in Germany, and more than 26%of companies opened new plants in Eastern European countries. At present, the German automotive component industry has established more than 1,400 wholly -owned or joint ventures around the world. According to the latest data from the German Automobile Research Center, the annual output of German automobiles in 2021 was only 2.85 million, a decrease of 50%compared with 2017. This is the lowest valley of German automobile production since the petroleum crisis.

With the slowdown of development, problems accumulated in the German automotive industry have also begun to appear. Under the dual pressure of new energy transformation and the spread of new crown pneumonia, some manufacturers have not even come out of the shadow of the "Tailing Gate" scandal, and they have to start laying new energy vehicles. This embarrassment was enlarged by the epidemic and quickly transmitted to the supplier, making the company that has struggled in the pain of transformation.

This is just a microcosm of the German automobile industry dilemma. The chip is off -supply and the landslide, and the pile parts are like the "Damocaris Sword" hanging above the head, which has covered the future of the German automotive industry.

The wheel of history will never stop due to anyone. Nowadays, the tide of the transformation of the automotive industry has shown an unstoppable trend, either to take the trend and stand bravely, or to be swallowed by the praying arm and being swallowed by huge waves. At the crossroads related to destiny, the German automotive industry needs deeper changes. Let the "Pearl on the Crown of Manufacturing" shine again and continue to shine. Germany has done it more than once, hoping that this time is the same.

Responsible editor: Gao Shuai | Review: Li Zhen | Director: Wan Junwei

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