Opel entered the automobile business 125 years ago
Opel Patent-Motorwagen System Lutzmann from 1899 with Heinrich Opel (right) and Opel foreman Sedlazcek.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
There are 125 years between the Opel Patent-Motorwagen System Lutzmann and the Opel Astra Sports Tourer Electric.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
Friedrich Lutzmann's house in Dessau around 1898, with the coat of arms of the ducal master locksmith above the door.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
Contemporary newspaper advertisement for the Opel Patent-Motorwagen System Lutzmann.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
Contemporary Opel advertisement: The company became an automobile manufacturer on 21 January 1899 as a bicycle manufacturer.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
Opel celebrates a major anniversary: 125 years of automobile manufacturing. On January 21, 1899, Wilhelm Opel, son of company founder Adam Opel, signed a contract with the Dessau master locksmith Friedrich Lutzmann to purchase his motor car factory - the official starting signal for automobile production at Opel. The Rüsselsheim-based company was thus entering new territory. Since then, more than 75 million Opel models have been built to date. Prior to this, the company had made a name for itself as a successful sewing machine and bicycle manufacturer.
In 1862, Adam Opel assembled his first sewing machine in Rüsselsheim, where the company is still based today, laying the foundation for the company's development. Opel soon developed into one of the largest sewing machine manufacturers in Germany and exported throughout Europe. Opel established its next successful pillar with the two-wheeler. In 1886, the first penny-farthing bicycle was built in Rüsselsheim, making Opel one of the first bicycle manufacturers in Germany. In the 1920s, Opel became the world's largest bicycle manufacturer - in parallel with its existing automobile business. At this time, the sons of the now deceased company founder, who had also provided the impetus for vehicle production, took over the management of the company.
Fritz and Wilhelm Opel had visited the first German motor show in Berlin in September 1897, where they met Friedrich Lutzmann in their search for another mainstay for the company. The master locksmith and "Grand Ducal Anhalt Court Car Builder" had been manufacturing motor cars since 1894. He invited the two brothers to his factory in Dessau. Although cooperation was initially on the table, the visitors from Rüsselsheim finally made the Dessau man a well-funded offer to purchase the land, building and workshop equipment - in other words, the entire factory. On January 21, 1899, Wilhelm Opel and Friedrich Lutzmann finally signed the contract for a purchase price of 116,887 marks - and the Anhaltische Motorenwagenfabrik was transferred to Opel. The entire operation, including employees and machinery, was relocated from Dessau to Rüsselsheim. Friedrich Lutzmann himself also received a two-year contract as "Plant Manager of the Adam Opel Motorfahrzeug-Fabrik".
By taking over Lutzmann's production and patents, Opel acquired several years of experience in motor vehicle construction in one fell swoop. From then on, Lutzmann and selected employees who had been transferred from bicycle production in Rüsselsheim manufactured motor cars under the Opel name in a newly built assembly hall. The first advertisements with the slogan "Opel motor cars are the best" appeared as early as the spring of 1899. (aum)
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Opel Patent-Motorwagen System Lutzmann from 1899 with Heinrich Opel (right) and Opel foreman Sedlazcek.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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There are 125 years between the Opel Patent-Motorwagen System Lutzmann and the Opel Astra Sports Tourer Electric.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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The five Opel brothers around 1912.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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The five Opel brothers around 1912.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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The five Opel brothers around 1912.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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The Opel plant in 1898.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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Friedrich Lutzmann's house in Dessau around 1898, with the coat of arms of the ducal master locksmith above the door.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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Contemporary newspaper advertisement for the Opel Patent-Motorwagen System Lutzmann.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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Contemporary Opel advertisement: The company became an automobile manufacturer on 21 January 1899 as a bicycle manufacturer.
Photo: Autoren-Union Mobilität/Opel
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