Austro-Daimler
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Austro-Daimler was an
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
automaker The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such a ...
company, from 1899 until 1934. It was a
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
''
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (abbreviated as DMG, also known as ''Daimler Motors Corporation'') was a German engineering company and later automobile manufacturer, in operation from 1890 until 1926. Founded by Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900) and ...
'' (DMG) until 1909.


Early history

In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The company sold so well that it also began manufacturing the automobiles after uniting with Eduard Fischer's engineering factory. The works were located at
Wiener-Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
. By this subsidiary ''DMG'' became the first automotive multinational in history. Thus on August 11, 1899, the
Austrian Daimler Engine Society Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
was founded. Whilst the assembling parts stemmed from Stuttgart, in 1900 they built their first automobile which featured 2 cylinders, , and 4 seats. Soon they started producing engines for luxurious cars, trucks, buses, maritime ships, and trains.


Paul Daimler era

In 1902,
Paul Daimler Paul Daimler (13 September 1869 – 15 December 1945) was a German mechanical engineer who designed automobiles. He was the eldest child of Gottlieb Daimler who founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and (with Wilhelm Maybach) invented the pet ...
,
Gottlieb Daimler Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (; 17 March 1834 – 6 March 1900) was a German engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf (Kingdom of Württemberg, a federal state of the German Confederation), in what is now Germany. He was a ...
's son, took charge of the Technical Department. He developed a
compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, p ...
(8 hp, 45 km/h). In 1905 he built the company's first armoured car, which had . Also, the company produced engines for both trucks and buses. However, Daimler returned to Stuttgart in 1905 to take over the research and development department, which had been vacated by Maybach.


Ferdinand Porsche era

Senior
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volkswag ...
took Daimler's place as technical designer. Although Austro-Daimler cars were competing at races already, Porsche pioneered aerodynamic usage with two famous racecars (''Mixte'' and ''Maya''). Also, he designed the Mercédès-Electrique-Mixte which was manufactured from 1902 until 1907. Porsche also impelled a company reformation, at a time when the company had 800 workers. The company was renamed 'Austro-Daimler' on July 27, 1906. That same year Emil Jellinek — who was Austrian too — bought several Austro-Daimler licenses to found ancillary companies abroad. In 1908, the Austro-Daimler began producing ''Zeppelin'' engines. Indeed, for Porsche this was a personal interest since he liked to take
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...
flying over Vienna. Pushing the company's development further, Porsche granted Austro-Daimler's definitive independence from DMG's ownership in 1909. In 1910, the company was renamed ''Oesterreichische Daimler Motoren AG'' (Austrian Daimler Engines AG) whose logo was the '' Austrian Royal double-headed eagle''. In 1912 DMG sold its remaining shares. In 1911 Austro-Daimler began producing the ''Prinz Heinrich'' (in English: ''Prince Henry'') model; this car, which featured an
overhead cam An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
5,714-cc four-cylinder engine, quickly became famous. It could develop 95
bhp BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
at 2,100
rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
; there was also a less potent version with
side valve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...
s and a 6,900-cc engine capable of developing at only 1,200 rpm. Both designs were by Porsche.


WW I

During the First World War, the 4,500 workers of Austro-Daimler contributed in large quantities to wartime production. They played a key role in the 1918 Austro-Hungarian January Strike in which workers inspired by the Bolshevik seizure of power took strike action to oppose the war. A key factor in the strike was the halving of the flour ration. Porsche met the workers and agreed to drive to Vienna to speak to the Minister of Food. However, his plea to the workers to return to work was ignored and they marched on the Town Hall. Here they were joined by other workers from the locomotive factory, the radiator works, the aircraft factory and local ammunition plants of G. Rath and the Lichtenwörther. The assembly soon numbered over 10,000 and the
Stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
phoned the Volksernährungsamt - the state organisation managing food supply. However, the minister, General Anton Höfer only promised to meet a delegation of the workers. The strike spread across the empire and involved over 700,000 workers.


1920–1930s

After the war, the company returned to the production of automobiles. Austro-Daimler still claimed Royal patronage via its connection with Prince
Heinrich Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
. Soon, the company began collapsing. In the first place, Austro-Daimler fused with several companies —
Skoda Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
,
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
, and
Puch Puch () is a manufacturing company located in Graz, Austria. The company was founded in 1899 by the industrialist Johann Puch and produced automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles. It was a subsidiary of the large Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglo ...
(1928). Then, it was submerged under
Camillo Castiglioni Camillo Castiglioni (22 October 1879 – 18 December 1957) was an Italian-Austrian Jewish financier and banker, and was the wealthiest man in Central Europe during World War I. Nicknamed "Austrian Stinnes", he was active in aviation's pioneering ...
's squandering management. At this time, Porsche created the 1.3-liter "Sascha" racing cars (named after their backer, Count Sascha Kolowrat-Krakowski) in the early 1920s. The smallest model the company offered was a 2,212-cc four-cylinder. However, as the economic situation worsened, Porsche abandoned the company in 1923, ridding himself of Austro-Daimler's financial difficulties. Instead, he moved to Stuttgart's DMG. The outstanding production car offered by Austro-Daimler during the 1930s was the ADM, which featured overhead cam
six-cylinder The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...
engines of 2,540 cc, 2,650 cc, and 2,994 cc. The last-named (the ADM III) developed at 4,000 rpm and was one of the greatest automobiles of the decade. Also offered was a less luxurious sporting version, the ''ADR''. 1931 saw Austro-Daimler introduce a 4,624-cc eight-cylinder car, a superb, highly expensive luxury vehicle. The last great car built at the Austrian works was the six-cylinder "Bergmeister", which featured an overhead cam 3,614-cc engine that could develop at 3,600 rpm; this car had a top speed of . In 1934 the company merged with Steyr Automobile, creating the Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate. However, in this same year, Austro-Daimler was dissolved.


Postwar era

In the 1970s and into the 1980s bicycles were made by Steyr-Daimler-Puch with some models bearing the
Puch Puch () is a manufacturing company located in Graz, Austria. The company was founded in 1899 by the industrialist Johann Puch and produced automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles. It was a subsidiary of the large Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglo ...
trademark, and more upscale models bearing the Austro-Daimler trademark. When the bicycle manufacturing aspects of the consortium were sold in 1987 to Piaggio & C. S.p.A. of Italy, the Puch trademark was conveyed however, the rights to the name Austro-Daimler were not sold. Since then no bicycles have been made bearing this trademark.


Prominent members of staff


Designers

* Willibald Gatter *
Oskar Hacker Oskar may refer to: * oskar (gene), the Drosophila gene * Oskar (given name) Oscar or Oskar is a masculine given name of Irish origin. Etymology The name is derived from two elements in Irish: the first, ''os'', means "deer"; the second element, ' ...
*
Karl Rabe Karl Rabe (29 October 1895, Pottendorf, Austria - 28 October 1968) was an automobile designer and was the Chief Designer at Porsche. He helped Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-Ge ...


Workers

*
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
during 1912–13


See also

*
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (abbreviated as DMG, also known as ''Daimler Motors Corporation'') was a German engineering company and later automobile manufacturer, in operation from 1890 until 1926. Founded by Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900) and ...
* USA Daimler * Steyr-Daimler-Puch


Gallery

Image:Langenburg-austro-daimler-ADM-1923.jpg, Austro-Daimler ADM 1923 File:Austro Daimler 1432 01.jpg, Austro-Daimler 14/32 from 1914 File:1910 Austro-Daimler Prince Henry.jpg, 1910 Austro-Daimler Prince Henry File:AustroDaimler Sascha.jpg, Austro-Daimler Sascha in the
Porsche Museum The Porsche Museum is an automobile museum in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart, Germany on the site of carmaker Porsche. History The original Porsche museum opened in 1976 in a side-road near the Porsche factory. It was a relatively s ...
in Stuttgart


References


External links


Austro-Daimler Vent Noir II
— ''article about Austro-Daimler bicycles & history of the Puch Austro Daimler company, pamphlets + images''.
Projekt AUSTRO DAIMLER
— ''Homepage of an Austrian project team that aims to revive the car brand Austro Daimler''.
A-D Bikes
— Homepage of A-D Bikes that is a revival of the bicycle brand Austro-Daimler''. {{authority control Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft Defunct manufacturing companies of Austria-Hungary Motor vehicle manufacturers of Austria Motor vehicle manufacturers of Austria-Hungary Aircraft engine manufacturers of Austria Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers Defunct companies of Austria Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1899 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1934 1934 disestablishments in Austria Vintage vehicles Wiener Neustadt Companies of Austria-Hungary Economy of Lower Austria Austrian companies established in 1899 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Austria