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(from Audi Press
Release) The Slaby-Beringer electric car – Innovative and
revolutionary in its day
The Slaby-Beringer
electric car, which appeared in 1919, was both innovative and
revolutionary. This also applies to the new Audi urban concept,
which interprets “electric mobility” systematically for a future
urban environment. With its use of Audi ultra technology it ensures
not only efficient transport, but also a sporty performance.
Dr. Rudolf Slaby built a
small electrically propelled car for his personal use in 1919. The
design aroused such interest that he decided, together with Hermann
Beringer, to establish a company and begin volume production of the
car.
An initial order for 100
cars was received from the Berlin-based company owned by Jörgen
Skafte Rasmussen, the Zschopau industrialist and founder of the DKW
company. Difficulties with companies supplying components and signs
that inflation was about to devalue the currency made Rasmussen
anxious that his high deposit payment could become worthless. He
therefore decided to take a one-third interest in the car’s
manufacturer, SB–Automobilgesellschaft m.b.H.
257 single-seat electric
cars were built in the first business year, from November 1, 1919 to
October 31, 1920. Of these, Rasmussen took 64; the remaining 36 from
his original order for 100 cars were repurchased by SB-Automobilgesellschaft.
80 of the cars were equipped with Levy motors; thereafter the SB-Automobilgesellschaft
began to produce its own electric motors.
The electric car was
initially equipped with a 12-cell, 24-Volt battery. From 1921 on, an
order from Japan made it necessary to offer the car with a battery
of larger capacity. The number of cells was therefore increased to
18. In addition to the 200 cars intended for Japan, which were paid
for in “hard” currency by a London bank, the company sold a further
137 electrically powered single-seat cars and 77 sidecars with
increased battery capacity on the domestic market.
Follow-up orders from
Japan were as much as the manufacturer could handle. Midway through
1923, however, inflation reached such a level in the German Reich
that deposit payments from foreign accounts were blocked. In July
1923 the company had no choice but to temporarily stop manufacturing
the single-and two-seat versions of the electric car, despite ample
stocks in hand and a full order book.
When a fresh start was
made in the fall of 1923, the electric car was joined by an SB car
with a DKW motorcycle engine.
