Premium

DKW Holka - Swiss DKW production

This article was auto-translated. We apologize if some words are confusing or simply amusing. Would you like to help us improve?

Created on December 10, 2025

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Gerhard Schütz

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Archiv

Gerhard Schütz

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Archiv

DKW production in Altstätten - Swiss wooden bodywork (Holka-Werke in Altstätten) with sheet metal instead of plywood paneling

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F8 (1939) - was sold as the "Landi" version after the national exhibition in Zurich

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F8 (1940) - Luxury convertible

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW production in Altstätten - Sheet metal-covered wooden bodywork

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW production in Altstätten - The workshops of Holka AG in Altstätten. In front a row of DKW F8s

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW production in Altstätten - F8 on its way to the dealers

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW production in Altstätten - delivery vans

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F7 (1938) with Zurich license plate

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F5 (1936) - from Swiss final assembly

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F5 Meisterklasse Kabriolet (1936) - the only model still in existence

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F8 Landi (1939) - for the Museum of Transport

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F8 Landi (1940) - at the international nostalgia car show in Bern

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F8 luxury four-seater convertible (1944) - no vehicle has surfaced to date

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F4 (1935) - Manufacture of the wooden frame in Altstätten

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

DKW Holka F8 Landi (1939) - Fabrication of the sheet metal body. Fitting the door frame at the Altstätten factory)

You have only

1 out of 23

images seen in high resolution

Summary

DKW cars were bodied in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley for ten years - initially from wood, later from sheet metal. Independent car bodies were even produced especially for the Swiss market. This article explains what this had to do with the customs policy of the time and what happened to the factory later.

This article contains the following chapters

Customs duties already existed back then
The car factory in Altstätten
Swiss specialty
Cars for patriots
(Parquet) floor of facts
Production figures

Estimated reading time: 4min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Holka AG, founded in 1934 in Altstätten, was a Swiss automobile factory. In fact, it was half a car factory: the ready-to-run DKW chassis with front-wheel drive came from Germany, while the semi-self-supporting wooden bodies were built in Switzerland and placed on the chassis. Hence the company name, HOLz-KArosserie. Wooden bodies? 1934? The design was not so rare in the thirties. Although the all-steel body was slowly gaining ground in the USA, starting with the Citroen Traction link of 1934, a body skeleton made of straight and bent squared timber, which was then clad with sheet metal or, in the case of DKW, with leather-covered plywood, was still a very common construction method for cars in all price ranges.

Welcome to Zwischengas!