Ehrhardt; Ehrhardt-Szawe (Germany) - AllCarIndex

Ehrhardt was a German automobile manufacturer founded in 1904 by Heinrich Ehrhardt in Düsseldorf. Prior to establishing his own company, Ehrhardt had been involved with Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach AG. The new factory was initially managed by his son, Gustav Ehrhardt. The early models produced by the company were based on designs from the French manufacturer Decauville and were sometimes marketed as Ehrhardt-Decauvilles.

In 1905, Ehrhardt introduced a light car known as the Fidelio, which featured a 1.2-liter two-cylinder engine of its own design. Over time, the company moved away from Decauville designs and began producing larger vehicles of its own engineering. Notably, in 1913, Ehrhardt launched the 31/50 PS, an 8-liter car that became the first German automobile to incorporate front-wheel brakes.

Following World War I, the company faced challenges in the economic climate of the 1920s. In 1922, Ehrhardt merged with the coachbuilding firm Szawe to form Ehrhardt-Szawe Automobilwerk AG, based in Berlin. The new entity produced vehicles such as the 10/50 PS, which was equipped with a 2.6-liter six-cylinder engine and a Soden automatic gearbox, featuring high-quality Szawe coachwork. Despite its quality, the car struggled to find a market during the austerity of post-war Germany. The factory in Zella-St Blasii later produced the PLUTO light car before ceasing operations in 1924.