About Automobil Industrie

Automobil Industrie

Automobil Industrie is the trade media brand for the technical and commercial management of the automotive business, published in Würzburg by the Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG. Founded in 1955, it positions itself as the specialist media brand in the field of tension between technology and business: its target group is the commercial and technical top management of the industry — car manufacturers, suppliers, engineering service providers, IT providers, factory outfitters, consultancies, universities, institutes and professional associations. Since 2021 the print magazine appears in seven issues per year (with a sold circulation of 8,476 copies, IVW Q3/2020), focused on vehicle technology, production, lightweight construction and development as well as connectivity, autonomous driving, shared mobility, e-mobility and Industry 4.0 — supplemented by regular thematic special issues, the e-paper editions, the daily news at automobil-industrie.de and the daily newsletter. Under editor-in-chief Claus-Peter Köth, the brand also operates events such as the Automobil Industrie Leichtbau-Gipfel in Würzburg.

Overview

The automotive industry's management faces a transformation without precedent: the electrification of the drivetrain, the software-defined vehicle, autonomous driving, the restructuring of supply chains, the Chinese competition, and the factory's digitalization through Industry 4.0. Automobil Industrie addresses the managers who must navigate this — the technical and commercial top management — with a program that deliberately spans the technology-business divide. Where engineering journals speak to developers and business journals to financiers, Automobil Industrie speaks to the managers who must decide both: which technologies to invest in, which production strategies to pursue, which partnerships to form.

The print issues' focus reflects the industry's agenda: vehicle technology and development, production and factory equipment, lightweight construction and materials, and the information technologies reshaping the car — connectivity, autonomous driving, shared mobility, e-mobility. The megathemes of mobility set the accents: the issues examine how the industry's business models shift from selling cars to selling mobility. The thematic special issues provide the deep treatment of focused topics. Between the seven print issues, the daily news at automobil-industrie.de and the daily newsletter deliver the industry's continuous coverage — the executive briefing the automotive manager reads each morning. The reach of 0.42 million readers (IVW, March 2020) documents the brand's cross-media audience across print and digital.

History

Automobil Industrie was founded in 1955, in the decade when the German automotive industry rebuilt itself into a global force: Volkswagen's Beetle boom, the supplier industry's growth, and the engineering culture that would define "Made in Germany." Published from Würzburg by the Vogel publishing house — headquartered there since 1952, one of Germany's great specialist-media houses with its 100+ trade journals and 60+ web portals — the magazine grew into the industry's management journal, the required reading of the automotive branch for over half a century.

The magazine's history tracks the industry's transformations: the 1960s and 1970s expansion, the 1980s quality and production-system debates, the 1990s globalization and lean production, the 2000s electronics revolution in the car, and the 2010s and 2020s disruption — electrification, connectivity, autonomy, the software-defined vehicle. The publishing rhythm adapted: from the monthly magazine of decades to seven issues per year since 2021, reflecting the shift of daily news to the digital channels. The events business grew alongside: the Automobil Industrie Leichtbau-Gipfel, bringing OEMs, suppliers and service providers to Würzburg for the lightweight-construction strategies — from the Audi Space Frame keynotes to the e-mobility lightweighting sessions with the Leichtbau-Campus research presentations. In September 2026, the Vogel Communications Group announced the acquisition of the Carl Hanser Verlag's industrial media division (effective 1 January 2027) — including HANSER automotive — to be run by the WIN-Verlag subsidiary, further consolidating Vogel's automotive media leadership.

Coverage and Content

Each issue's program follows the automotive industry's management agenda. The vehicle-technology and development coverage addresses the engineering strategies: the electric drivetrains, the battery technologies, the software architectures, and the autonomous-driving systems — examined through the management lens of investment decisions and competitive positioning. The production coverage treats the factory: the production systems, the factory equipment, the digitalization through Industry 4.0, and the lightweight-construction strategies that the Leichtbau-Gipfel explores in depth — from the material innovations to the manufacturing processes.

The mobility megathemes set the strategic accents: connectivity and the connected car, shared mobility and the mobility-service business models, e-mobility's infrastructure and market development, and the industry's structural transformation — the supplier industry's repositioning, the new entrants, the Chinese manufacturers' European strategies. The special issues provide the focused deep-dives. The daily online news covers the industry's business developments: the OEM strategies, the supplier deals, the management changes, and the policy decisions from Berlin and Brussels. The newsletter curates the daily selection for the executive inbox. Across all channels runs the brand's editorial stance: the automotive industry as the technology-business nexus, where engineering excellence and commercial strategy must meet — the field of tension the magazine has navigated since 1955.

Organization and Ownership

Automobil Industrie is published by the Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG of Würzburg — the specialist-media house headquartered in Würzburg since 1952, with its seven German locations and international operations in Europe, Asia and the USA. The editor-in-chief is Claus-Peter Köth, who also shapes the brand's events such as the Leichtbau-Gipfel. The editorial team combines automotive journalists with the industry's engineers, managers and researchers as contributors — the expert network that gives the magazine its technical authority and management relevance.

Commercially, the brand follows the B2B specialist-media model: the print subscriptions (the seven annual issues with their 8,476 sold copies), the e-paper, advertising from the automotive industry's suppliers — the engineering service providers, the IT companies, the factory outfitters, the material and component suppliers whose customers are the top management — plus the events business and the digital advertising on the portal and newsletter. The September 2026 Hanser acquisition — the HANSER automotive, Kunststoffe, QZ and WB titles moving to the WIN-Verlag — extends the group's automotive portfolio and the cross-selling opportunities. The audience — the technical and commercial top management of OEMs, suppliers and service providers — is the automotive industry's concentrated decision-maker readership.

Digital Presence

The brand's digital home is automobil-industrie.vogel.de (with the news at automobil-industrie.de), carrying the daily industry news flow, the issue presentations, and the e-paper editions — the continuous coverage between the seven print issues. The portal's news sections deliver the automotive industry's business and technology developments, updated daily through the publishing year, while the daily newsletter brings the curated selection to the executives' inboxes. The e-paper presents the print issues in digital form for the subscribers.

The events extend the brand into the physical: the Automobil Industrie Leichtbau-Gipfel in Würzburg, with its keynote speakers (from the Audi Space Frame's inventor to the OEM lightweight-construction chiefs), expert sessions, live demonstrations, exhibition and Leichtbau-Campus — the lightweight-construction community's annual gathering, where the research meets the application. On social media, the brand maintains channels for news distribution and community engagement. After seven decades — from the 1955 founding through the monthly era to today's seven-issue, cross-media brand — Automobil Industrie operates as the automotive management's media platform: the magazine for the curated technology-business reading, the portal and newsletter for the daily executive briefing, and the events for the physical gathering — the specialist media brand in the field of tension between technology and business, in print, online and in person, for the managers who build the industry's future, issue after issue.