The post-war years at NSU were like those at most industrial companies in Germany: removal of rubble and debris, production start-up with pre-war types in small quantities, and after the currency reform, an upswing to satisfy the pent-up demand. In a very special way, this affected everything that served mobility and was affordable in the so scarce early years - bicycles, motorcycles, motor scooters and automobiles, especially small cars.

At NSU, post-war production began with the Quick motorcycle, the 125 ZDB and the 251 OSL. Production figures skyrocketed. From July 1, 1946, Walter Niegtsch directed the company‘s fortunes as Chairman of the Board of Management. He not only initiated a rapid expansion of motorcycle production, but also confirmed chief designer Albert Roder‘s drive for new designs. Niegtsch ensured the revival of the export business very early on. revitalization of the export business and, all in all, laid the foundation for NSU‘s growth after the war.

After his death in 1951, Gerd Stieler von Heydekampf took his place as successor. The expansive course was maintained. In 1954, 250 bicycles, 350 scooters and motorcycles, and 1,000 Quicklys were produced per day in Neckarsulm. were produced. In the following year, the company experienced its absolute peak with a production of around 50,000 bicycles and 300,000 motorized two-wheelers.

NSU was the largest motorcycle factory in the world. Germany‘s best-selling motorcycle brand was NSU. Nevertheless, even the glorious and profitable Neckarsulm company could not avoid the realization that the two-wheeler boom was coming to an end and that something therefore had to be done urgently to prevent sales from collapsing. The next logical step was to start production of NSU automobiles again. However, it was difficult to get the Fiat Group to agree to this. At that time, in 1929, the Neckarsulm company had contractually committed itself never again to offer cars under the NSU brand, so as not to endanger

the automobile factory owned by the Italians and located in Heilbronn. The latter still marketed its products under the brand names NSU/Fiat and Neckar, formerly NSU Heilbronn. It was not until 1966 that these brand names were dropped by Fiat after a long legal dispute. From then on only the name Neckar was used, and from 1968 only Fiat. The resumption of NSU automobile production took place in 1958, the same year in which the Neckarsulm company took a further step towards securing its long-term future: on February 1, 1957, a rotary piston engine of the Wankel type was fired for the first time on the NSU test bench and ran!

Since 1953, the idea of the rotary piston engine had been pursued together with Felix Wankel, whose perfection Wankel achieved the following year with a decisive step when he found the three-chamber design that could be operated without valves. In 1958, NSU engineers developed the more effective form of the rotary piston engine. The intensity, scope and cost of

development work increased, and results were still a long way off.From 1960, the company traded as NSU Motorenwerke AG Neckarsulm. In 1963, the NSU/Wankel Spider was on display at the International Motor Show. It was the first mass-produced car ever with a rotary piston engine. In 1966, the last NSU two-wheeler - a Quick 50 - rolled off the production line, after 1.75 million bicycles and 2.3 million motorized two-wheelers had left the Neckarsulm plant since the company was founded. Motorcycle production was discontinued. The production facilities for the bicycles had already been sold in 1963.