Dexterity in the streets, the ability to easily park on the sidewalk, simplicity, the ability to drive with a group B license – the benefits of small Multicar commercial vehicles really have many. Their origins can be traced back to 1920, when the company ADE-Werke was founded, named after the owner Arthur Ade. The company produced agricultural machinery, semi-trailers, trailers and accessories for connecting vehicles.
Production was interrupted by World War II and restarted in 1946, when it was renamed Gerätebau Waltershausen. The factory again produced agricultural equipment, connecting equipment and semi-trailers, gradually adding, for example, rotary clothes dryers, brake components or valves for motor vehicles. In 1948, the company was renamed VEB Fahrzeugwerk Waltershausen.
The company then began building its first car with an internal combustion engine in the 1950s. It was therefore more of a truck, it was called Dieselkarre DK 2002 and it was a conversion of a battery chassis to be powered by a diesel engine, specifically a single cylinder with an output of 4.1 kW. The control was solved by levers in the front part, which were operated by a standing driver. The car was developed into a newer type DK 2003 (abbreviated DK 3), produced either with a platform or a tipper. Another evolution was the DK 2004 type (DK 4), which received a front open cab with a door and a single cylinder with a volume of 650 cm3 with an output of 4.4 kW (later 4.8 kW).
