At the time, Volkswagen had its back to the wall – overcapacities were squeezing. The oil crisis of 1973 had brought the years of the economic miracle to an abrupt end. Neckarsulm was discredited as the "united steelworks".

The factory also included factories in Heilbronn and Neuenstein. The last NSU, the Ro 80 with its Wankel engine, may have been the pride of Neckarsulm, but demand was low and so was production capacity utilisation. The company made a loss of 3,500 marks on each Ro 80. Although the Audi 100 had been produced in Neckarsulm since 1971, the car was closely linked to Audi's sister plant in Ingolstadt.