1936: Steyr 50/55 “Baby” Cars

The Austrian car industry of the First Republic was well-positioned, despite permanent economic crises: Already at the start of the 1920s, the production areas of Steyr, Austro-Daimler (Vienna Neustadt) and Puch (Graz) were divided, while administration and marketing were consolidated. In 1934, the manufacturer, which amalgamated into Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, was to become a big player in the auto industry. The ever-more concrete ideas of a people’s car (Volksauto) and the ideal of full motorisation were transformed by Karl Jenschke into the design of the Steyr 50.

The government was impressed by the idea of a popular compact car, especially since a prototype brilliantly mastered the ultimate Alpine criterion – coping with the 32 percent incline on the Katschberg Pass – and also because the start of production created 500 jobs in one fell swoop. Despite minor commercial success, the Austrian population and the media quickly fell in love with the streamlined, comfortable and compact car, nicknaming it “Steyr-Baby”. Between 1936 and 1940, 13,000 cars were built. To this day, in the country's collective memory, it was “Hitler” who impeded the global success of an Austrian “Volkswagen”.