Sunday, 10 October 2021

1933 NAG-Voran 220 6/30 PS - Tatra under license


Rohr were not the only German automaker to secure a license to manufacture the Tatra 75 in 1933. NAG, the Nationale Automobil-Gesellschaft (National Automobile Company) secured a Tatra license in late 1932 and presented their version of the Tatra 75 at the Berlin Motor Show in 1933.

NAG had a very complex history. The company was originally established in 1899 by AEG founder, Emil Rathenau, as Allgemeinen Automobil-Gesellschaft Berlin (AAG) in order to pursue his interest in motor vehicles. AAG would become the selling agent for AEG's electric vehicles, but as the company began develop petrol engine vehicles, it was decided in 1901 to create a separate company, imaginatively called the Neue Automobil-Gesellschaft (NAG). By 1903 the company was producing cars, buses, trucks and commercial vehicles. In 1915, for patriotic reasons, the company renamed itself the Nationale Automobil-Gesellschaft.

Military contracts during the First World War (1914-18) saw NAG become a major commercial enterprise and by the mid-1920s, the company began a series of purchases and mergers. In 1927 NAG purchased the car manufacturer, Protos, followed by Dux and then Presto, becoming NAG-Presto. By 1930 however, despite strong truck, bus and commercial sales, the company was struggling financially, which led to a merger with the truck manufacturer, Bussing, to become Bussing-NAG in 1931. Bussing began a rationalization of the disparate NAG companies and production facilities.

The licensing agreement with Tatra was agreed at this time, but due to the company's troubled financial position, NAG were forced to cut corners on the car's development. There were issues with the quality of the engine and suspension, which would require redesign later in 1934. Unlike the steel bodied Rohr Junior and Stoewer Greif Junior, the bodywork of the NAG-Voran 220 was of plywood covered in leatherette.

This made the car cheaper than its cousins. Initially the car was offered as a two door coupe, but in 1934 a specialized four door taxi version was offered. Despite this, the NAG-Voran 220 did not sell particularly well, partly due to issues of build quality as well as NAG's increasingly precarious reputation. Only 400 odd cars were built before production was stopped. The NAG-Voran 220 would be the last passenger car built by the company. After car production was wound up, NAG's extensive and modern Prestowerkes factory in Chemnitz was closed down. It would be sold to Auto-Union in 1935, who transformed the facility into their new corporate head quarters.

For the history of the Prestowerkes and Auto-Union's head office, see here: https://chemnitz-gestern-heute.de/prestowerke/

Rohr, in its last ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy, attempted to negotiate a joint manufacturing venture with NAG, but this would ultimately fall through. Bussing-NAG would build heavy trucks and half-tracks for the Wehrmacht through the Second World War. The company would be revived after the war and eventually bought out by MAN in 1971.


German Licensed Tatra manufacturers:
Rohr Junior history - https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2021/09/1933-rohr-junior-tatra-under-license.html
Stoewer Greif Junior - https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2021/10/1935-stoewer-greif-junior-tatra-under.html
DELTA/DETRA history - https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2021/05/deutsche-license-tatra-automobile-delta.html