Research your SIMSON with our VIN Checker

Simson, a German company, was founded by Lob and Moses Simson. In 1854, the brothers bought a third of a steelhammer works in Suhl, Germany and established Simson &Co. in 1856. The company began producing carbon steel followed up with the production guns and guns barrels later.

The company began producing bicycles in 1896 quickly followed by automobiles in 1907. Simson is the manufacturer of the famous Supra racing car. Under the Third Reich, the company was seized from the Jewish brothers and renamed multiple times in the subsequent years. The factory reintroduced the Simson name when it produced mopeds under the rule of the former German Democratic Republic. The mopeds were in production until 2002.

After WWII, the company was declared an armaments factory and mostly taken apart in 1946. About 4,300 machines were transferred to the Soviet Union. The remaining facilities commenced the production of products such as buggies, bicycles and hunting weapons, all of which were transported to the Soviet Union as part of the war reparations. In 1947, the company was integrated into the Weimar branch of the Soviet Joint Stock Company.

The Soviet Army Administration ordered the production of a 250cc four-stroke engine motorcycle in 1948 and the AWO 425 was the result. On the 1st of ay 1952, mopeds, mokicks and scooters were added to the AWO 425. Having divided the market segments of the company, the division lasted until the end of the GDR. On the 13th of September 1963, the one-millionth moped left the production halls of Simson and production of the Schwalbe began in 1964.

By the end of the 80s, the company employed approximately 4,000 workers and they produced roughly 200,000 mopeds per year. The mopeds were sold to consumers based in the Eastern bloc in the 70s. In the 80s, the SR50 which featured an electric motor was developed.

Political changes in 1989-1990 saw Simson placed under trust management and eventually into private ownership. In the meantime, the company’s international market collapsed and domestic demand also went down. The majority of the 4,000 employees lost their jobs as the company’s production went down to 5,000 mopeds in 1991. In March 1991, liquidation proceedings were started and production came to an end on 31st December 1991. There was an attempt at reviving the company but by 2003, it was on a decline once more.