Manurhin

Manurhin, French scooter from 50s built under licence of DKW.

Manurhin, officially known as Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin, in Haut-Rhin, France started by manufacturing Walther PP, PPK, and PPK/S model pistols since 1952. The company also imported guns from USA and rebranded them. Starting in 1956 Manhurin produced under licence the German DKW Hobby scooter by incorporating locally made components and rebranding it as the Manurhin MR75 in Europe and the Concord in the UK. The MR 75 was constructed to a high standard and probably was one of the first motorcycles to be painted electrostatically, a process commonly known as ‘powder coating’. When DKW ceased production of the Hobby, Manurhin continued with its version, which in 1957 occupied third place in the European scooter sales chart behind Lambretta and Vespa.

"DKW Hobby production reportedly ran on to some 44,000 units by the end of 1957, before the model dropped from listings early in the following year. 1958 was a turning point for the company, seeing the return of Auto Union branding on a small model 1000 saloon car, and at the same time introduced a stylish SP coupé model (...) DKW two-wheeler production was split off, to merge with Victoria and Express and form the Zweirad Union. Tooling to manufacture the now discontinued Hobby Scooter was licensed out to Manurhin France and production resumed at the Parisian company later in the year, with conversion to automatic clutch operation, and a few minor detail alterations." from www.icenicam.ukfsn.org