Карма́н: Неміс автокөліктерінің тарихы және банкроттығы

German automobile and contract manufacturer

Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, commonly known as Karmann, was a German automobile manufacturer and contract manufacturer based in Osnabrück, Germany. Founded by Wilhelm Karmann in 1901, the company specialised in various automotive roles, including design, production and assembly of components for a wide variety of automobile manufacturers, including Chrysler, Porsche, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen Group. The company was broken up in 2010, after filing for bankruptcy the previous year. Its convertible roof components were purchased by Webasto, Magna Steyr and Valmet Automotive, while the Osnabrück assembly plant, vehicle development, tools and assembly systems were transferred to Volkswagen.

Karmann was established in 1901 when Wilhelm Karmann purchased Klages, a coachbuilder founded in 1874, and renamed the business. The company then grew together with the expanding automobile industry. In addition to the Beetle Cabriolet and Karmann Ghia, all cabriolet variants of the VW Golf as well as the Scirocco, and Corrado were built by Karmann. The 1960s saw the expansion of the company and further vehicle plants were set up in São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) and Rheine. In the years after 1965, complete vehicles and bodies of the BMW New Class Coupé, and its successor, the larger E9, were produced in Rheine. Installation of the engine and final assembly were handled by BMW at the Munich plant. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Karmann produced the body shell of the BMW 6 Series Coupé and the convertible models of the Ford Escort as complete vehicles. From the beginning of the 1990s, the Ford Escort RS Cosworth, European market Kia Sportages and from 1997 the Audi Cabriolet (type 89) and the Audi A4 Cabriolet (from 2002), as well as the Chrysler Crossfire (2003) and Mercedes Benz CLK Cabriolet (A209, 2003) were produced as complete vehicles. Production of VW's Vento/Jetta (1992/93) and the Golf Variant A3 (1997/99) also shifted from Volkswagen in Wolfsburg to Karmann in Osnabrück. In 1968, AMC introduced the Javelin, a new competitor in the U. S. "pony car" segment. AMC did not have a manufacturing subsidiary in Europe, therefore, Karmann assembled the American designed car for distribution in Europe. Karmann built the cars in Rheine with V8 engines. About 90% of the necessary components were shipped by boat from the U. S. All were SST trim versions and their name, Javelin 79 K stood for AMC's "79" model number and the "K" for Karmann. A small number of vehicles were also produced in Brazil (São Bernardo do Campo). The Osnabrück facility also produced the chassis and body panels of the Spyker C8 Spyder. The production facilities in Osnabrück, Chorzów, Poland, Yokohama, Japan, Sunderland, UK, Puebla, Mexico, and Plymouth Township, U. S. manufactured roof systems for convertibles including the Mercedes Benz CLK, the Renault Mégane CC, the Nissan Micra C+C, the Pontiac G6, the Chrysler Sebring, the Ford Mustang, the Bentley Continental, the BMW 1 Series, and the Volkswagen New Beetle Cabriolet.

The first Karmann motorhomes were launched in 1974 based on the Volkswagen Type 2 'Bay Window' chassis. The bodies were of a sandwich structure. These motorhomes had two beds, kitchen, shower, waste water tank, rear body supports, leisure battery, toilet, water heater and gas heating. Options included the luggage rack over the driver's cab. Approximately 1,000 units were produced through 1979. With the introduction of the Volkswagen T2/3 also known as the (T3/Vanagon/Transporter/T25) in 1979, the motorhomes received a permanent overhead area with a bed for two people. Called Karmann Gipsy, 741 were made between 1980 and 1992. This number excludes 30 or more Type 3 Syncro models made between 1986 and 1989, and 7 Syncro 16" models made between 1991 and 1992. In addition 113 Cheetah T2/3's were manufactured between 1986 and 1990 to make a total 891 Volkswagen T3 Karmann Coachbuilt Motorhomes all produced in Karmann Rheine factory and not at Osnabruck as commonly believed. From 1978 to 1996, a total of 3,103 Volkswagen LT based models were produced. These included the LT "M", LT "L 1", LT "L 2", LT "L Distance Wide", LT "L Distance Wide Gold", LT "H Distance Wide", LT "H Distance Wide Gold", LT "S Distance Wide" and the top of the line LT "Distance Wide Autovilla". In 1991, the Karmann motorhome design was updated and based on the Volkswagen T4. The Gipsy and Cheetah models names were retained in the form of the Gipsy I (SWB) and Cheetah (LWB). In 1996 two new models were introduced namely the Colorado and Missouri. The Volkswagen Transporter (T5) based versions were introduced in 2003.

On 8 April 2009, Karmann filed for insolvency proceedings due to the sharp decline in demand for cars, and the company's financial obligations. The employment protection contracts of the large OEMs with the unions and the technological progress in vehicle construction led to the fact that the production of niche vehicles was no longer outsourced, but rather carried out within the OEM production network. Volkswagen, Karmann's longtime partner, revealed on 24 October that it had made an offer to acquire the company. On 20 November, Volkswagen took over the factory buildings, machinery, plant and land from the Karmann insolvent estate. With the exception of roof systems, Volkswagen Osnabrück encompasses former Karmann divisions: production systems (metal group), press shop, body shop, paint shop, assembly and technical development. On 4 November 2010, Finland's Valmet Automotive signed an agreement to buy Karmann's roof component sections in Osnabrück and Żary, Poland. Karmann's North American operations were sold in August 2010 to Webasto Group. Effective 25 February 2010, the Japanese production site of Karmann was acquired by Magna International. Magna Steyr also manufactured the roof system for the Infiniti G37 Convertible in addition to the roof system for the Nissan 370Z Roadster.