Automobilwerk Eisenach

50°58′52″N 10°19′19″E / 50.981111°N 10.321944°E / 50.981111; 10.321944

The Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE; German pronunciation: [aʊtomoˈbiːlvɛʁk ˈaɪzənax]) was an automobile manufacturer located in Eisenach, Germany from 1896 to 1991. It is known as one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and found most success with Wartburg, the second best-selling car marque in East Germany after Trabant.

AWE was founded by Heinrich Ehrhardt in 1896 as Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenachand which became one of the earliest autmobile manufacturers in Germany. AWE was purchased by BMW in 1928 and used the Eisenach factory to produce their automobiles and motorcycles until it was confiscated by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in 1945. AWE became a VEB of East Germany in 1949, producing nearly 2 million vehicles during its operation and making it the second-largest automobile manufacturer in East Germany after Sachsenring. AWE was dissolved by the Treuhandanstalt in 1991, shortly after German reunification, and most its workforce was transferred to Opel Eisenach.