HQM Sachsenring GmbH is a

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...

-based company that supplies chassis and body parts to the automotive industry. The company was named after the

Sachsenring The Sachsenring () is a motorsport racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champ ...

race track. Founded as VEB Sachsenring after the end of World War II, Sachsenring was one of the few manufacturers of vehicles in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, its best known product being the

Trabant Trabant () is a series of small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. In total, four different models were made, the Trabant 500, Trabant 600, Trabant 601, and the Tr ...

, produced between 1957 and 1991. Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, Sachsenring transitioned from a government-owned company under a centrally-planned economy to a private corporation in a free market economy. After three years in bankruptcy, Sachsenring AG was purchased in February, 2006 by Härterei und Qualitätsmanagement GmbH (HQM) of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. Formerly the dominant major automaker in East Germany, Sachsenring has since departed from making motor vehicles. Today, it supplies, among other things, the

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

factory with parts for the Golf and Passat models. Zwickau Sachsenring (aka)

Models

Supermini

AWZ P70 Zwickau The AWZ P70 "Zwickau" is a small family car which was produced in East Germany by ''VEB Automobilwerke Zwickau (AWZ)'' between 1955 and 1959. It succeeded the IFA F8 using the same 684 cc two-cylinder, two-stroke engine but with a completel ...

(1955–1959) * Trabant P50 (1957–1962) * Trabant 600 (1962–1965) *

Trabant 601 The Trabant 601 (or Trabant P601 series) was a Trabant model produced by VEB Sachsenring in Zwickau, Saxony. It was the third generation of the model, built for the longest production time, from 1964 to 1990. As a result, it is the best-known Tra ...

(1964–1990) * Trabant 1.1 (1990–1991) * Sachsenring UNI 1 (prototype, 1996)

Luxury vehicle

* Sachsenring P240 (1954–1959) * Sachsenring P240 Repräsentant (1969)

Trucks

* IFA H3A (1957–1958) * IFA S4000 (1959–1960)

Cultural impact

The German

bitpop Bitpop is a type of electronic music and subgenre of chiptune music, where at least part of the music is made using the sound chips of old 8-bit (or 16-bit) computers and video game consoles. Characteristics Among systems used include the A ...

pioneers Welle:Erdball have been using a rotated version of the Sachsenring emblem as their band logo since 1996.

Gallery

Image:1983.trabant.P601L.arp.jpg, 1983 Trabant 601L Image:AWZ P70 Coupe.jpg,

Image:1957 Horch Sachsenring P240 IMG 0308.jpg, 1957 Sachsenring P240 Image:Bundeswehrmuseum Dresden 28.jpg, 1969 P240 Repräsentant Image:Trabant (7906370600) (2).jpg, Trabant 1.1 Image:IFA S4000 Minol.JPG, IFA S4000

References

External links

HQM official site
(German)
Official Site of August Horch Museum Zwickau UK-based official Wartburg, Trabant and IFA owners' club
{{Automotive industry in Germany Automotive companies of Germany Car manufacturers of Germany Car manufacturers of East Germany Zwickau 1957 establishments in East Germany Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1957 2006 mergers and acquisitions