History

Milestones on our way

Germany in the thirties. Like many others the qualified lathe operator Karl Braun is also unemployed. That's why the self-educated man learnt the skills of a motor mechanic and established a workshop for bicycles with which he successfully conducted business too. But cars are his passion not bicycles, so he transferred to dealing with cars. In 1938 he also took over trucks which got put into service in local and long distance traffic.

After the war Karl Braun initially concentrated exclusively on dealing with cars. "Auto Braun" opened its first sales premises on Republic Square in the metropolis on the River Main. Shortly after the war cars were rare items, so that "Auto Braun" with up to twenty cars on its sales lot offered a considerable selection.

When in the fifties business boomed, Karl Braun recognised the signs of the times and specialised in trade with used commercial vehicles. Because growing business conditions also had an increasing need for trucks.

"Auto Braun" expanded constantly and in 1963 the company moved into Schloßstraße in Frankfurt. There Karl Braun built a filling station, a workshop and a showroom on the premises. He lived with his family in the immediate vicinity. His five sons learnt the passion for trucks in the cradle in the most literal way, so big cars belong to the exciting everyday reality of their childhood.

Two of the sons combine this enthusiasm with businessman's education. In the sixties Norbert and Erich Braun founded – initially independently of each other – their own businesses in commercial vehicle trade. In 1975 the two amalgamated their businesses und founded the company AVG Auto-Vertrieb Braun GmbH. At this point in time the father, Karl, had already gone into retirement and passed on his experiences in the motor trade to the next generation.

In the seventies AVG mainly expanded its international business. Commercial vehicles are exported as far as Teheran, partly even carriage paid. So Norbert Braun himself once drove a truck to Beirut in order to expand customer contacts there.

The growing success of the business was also noticeable in the question of space. The company premises on the secondary road in Main was no longer sufficient for the growing stock of vehicles. That's why the company moved to the 4.900 sq. m. sales premises in Lärchenstraße in Frankfurt in 1983.

Completely in keeping with the Braun family tradition Nicolai Braun, son of Norbert, gets pleasure in the truck business. After his businessman's training in a Mercedes-Benz business and an overseas stay in England he entered the family business in 1989 and became a partner. In 1996 the ever growing business purchased 20.000 sq.m. of company premises and moved into Gwinnerstraße. By 2008 the premises were enlarged to 47.000 q.m., so that more than 500 commercial vehicles could be offered for sale. In 2001 Norbert Braun went into retirement, while Erich and Nicolai continue to operate the business. In 2004 Knut Jöckel, who previously was head of the used vehicle sales department at Volvo Trucks Germany, became the third manager.