page_title: Wilhelm Karmann Jr.
section_title: Reconstruction and partnership with Volkswagen
hierarchical_section_title: Wilhelm Karmann Jr. / Reconstruction and partnership with Volkswagen
caption_attribution_description: English: Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Deutsch: Volkswagen Käfer Cabriolet
context_page_description: Wilhelm Karmann Jr. was a German entrepreneur. He took over the management of Wilhelm Karmann GmbH based in Osnabrück in 1952 and led the company to become a recognized partner of the automotive industry as a contract manufacturer of complete vehicles and as a supplier of pressed parts, production systems and roof modules for convertibles. He was also involved in numerous vehicle developments.
  It was the VW Karmann-Ghia that made the name Karmann known worldwide. In 1955, Karmann presented the coupé version of the VW 1200, designed by Luigi Segre, the owner of the Italian Ghia bodywork plant in Turin, to the General Director of the Volkswagen plant, Heinrich Nordhoff. Volkswagen liked the soft lines of the coupé and this was the beginning of the worldwide success story of the Karmann-Ghia. The love for open cars accompanied Karmann throughout his life; not only the VW Beetle and then the Golf Cabriolet came from Osnabrück, but also convertibles from Audi, Ford and Mercedes as well as a variety of roof systems as component deliveries.
context_section_description: In 1945, Karmann and his father set about resuming operations with the remaining production resources. For the British Army, for example, more than 100,000 forks and spoons were produced, and Karmann produced 10,000 tin tubs for wheelbarrows for the Harburg Tempo works. More important, however, was cooperation with the Ford Company, with whom Karmann had already worked well before the war. Karmann bundled the remaining stocks of tools still available in East Berlin, restored and modernized them in Osnabrück and delivered them to Cologne. Ford was very satisfied with how Karmann had repaired the tools and commissioned the Osnabrück Company to supply 2,000 sets of pressed parts. This was followed by the first major order. Now Karmann was to supply 800 platform bodies for Ford trucks. And in spring 1946, Karmann was commissioned to produce 1,000 cabs for the Hanomag road tractor.  
  Karmann and his father sought to build car bodies again. Their company cooperated with the new Auto Union GmbH, on whose order the first prototypes of the all-steel sedan and the 4-seater convertible were delivered from August 1949 on. This order was followed by the production of over 1,000 series vehicles for Auto Union.
  At the beginning of 1948, Karmann succeeded in purchasing a Volkswagen saloon, the VW Type 1,which he transformed into a convertible with the help of his father. Together    they presented the convertible in Wolfsburg to Heinrich Nordhoff, who had been General Director of Volkswagen Company since 1 January 1948. In May 1949, Karmann delivered 25 Volkswagen Cabriolets to the VW test department. And on 1 August 1949, the time had come: Volkswagen ordered "1,000 four-seater, four-winged Type 15 Cabriolets" from Karmann at a unit price per bodywork of Deutsche Mark 1,900 net ex works. The foundation stone for a lasting partnership with Volkswagen was laid. At that time Karmann employed 642 people; after the death of the company founder and the takeover of the business, the workforce had already grown to over 1,400.
  In addition to vehicle construction and the press shop, Karmann committed to the further development of tool making. The production of complicated large tools, with which body parts such as mudguards, roofs or doors were formed from the steel sheets, cost a lot of money and also led to controversial discussions with his father. But Karmann's strategy worked. At the beginning of the 60s, there were only a few car models in Europe for which Karmann had not supplied pressing tools or pressed parts.
caption: VW Beetle Convertible
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