Bombardier Transportation Austria
An Austrian rail-vehicle manufacturing business with origins in the Lohner coachbuilding company and a present focus on tram production.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Bombardier Transportation Austria is the historical successor to the Austrian industrial company commonly known as Lohner-Werke or Lohner. Its origins reach back to 1821, when Heinrich Lohner established a wagonmaking workshop in Vienna. Under later generations of the Lohner family, the business developed from a craft workshop into a substantial coachbuilding manufacturer supplying vehicles to European royal courts and the Austrian imperial household. The company became particularly important at the turn of the twentieth century when Ludwig Lohner pursued self-propelled vehicles and engaged Ferdinand Porsche, then working in electrical engineering, to design electric and hybrid vehicles. The Lohner-Porsche vehicles combined battery power with electric motors mounted in the front wheel hubs. One was displayed at the 1900 Paris Exposition, helping publicize the potential of electric propulsion. Porsche subsequently developed petrol-electric drive concepts for Lohner, including vehicles using an internal-combustion engine as a generator and electric hub motors. Related vehicles were supplied for specialist applications, including military and firefighting use. Although the company did not become a mass automobile producer, its early work gave Lohner a significant place in the history of electric mobility. Lohner entered aircraft manufacturing in 1909. During the First World War it produced reconnaissance aircraft for the Austro-Hungarian military and flying boats for naval patrol duties. Its aircraft designs and production expertise also reached foreign aviation markets, including Spain, while some Lohner flying-boat concepts were later reproduced by the Italian Macchi concern. After the First World War, changing economic and political conditions led the company to leave aircraft production. It redirected its industrial capacity toward trams, coachbodies and other manufactured equipment. The interwar period was difficult. The Floridsdorf factory eventually closed during the Great Depression. During the German annexation of Austria, the company was involved in aircraft-wing production, and its plant suffered damage in 1944. After the Second World War, the company operated under public administration until 1949, when control returned to the Lohner family. It then resumed tram production and diversified into scooters and mopeds. Models such as the L125, L98 and Sissy became associated with the postwar Lohner product range, although growing automobile ownership weakened the scooter business. Because Lohner scooters used engines supplied by Rotax, the two companies merged in 1959 to form Lohner Rotax. During the 1960s the combined business undertook a broader range of industrial work, including hay-loaders, gun carriages for the Austrian Army and licensed production of Bombardier Ski-Doo snowmobiles. In 1970 Bombardier acquired a controlling interest and renamed the company Bombardier-Rotax GmbH. The business was subsequently reorganized within Bombardier's rail activities as Bombardier Wien Schienenfahrzeuge, or BWS, and later as Bombardier Transportation Austria. The Vienna operation became increasingly focused on rail vehicles, especially tram and light-rail carbody production. Following Bombardier's acquisition of Adtranz in 2001, the Vienna works were assigned a specialized role in the group's production network. The company moved to a new facility in Vienna's Donaustadt district in 2007. In the period described by the canonical reference, its principal activity was tram manufacturing rather than aerospace or consumer vehicles. Bombardier Transportation was acquired by Alstom in 2021, placing the Austrian operation within Alstom's global rail organization. The Lohner name therefore survives primarily as an industrial and historical identity, while the modern operating business is associated with Bombardier Transportation and its successor Alstom.
History
Heinrich Lohner established a wagonmaking workshop in Vienna in 1821. Two years later he formed a partnership with saddlemaker Ludwig Laurenzi. After Laurenzi's death, the business became Jacob Lohner & Co. under Heinrich's son Jacob. Jacob expanded the workshop into a factory producing several hundred vehicles annually and won patronage from royal and imperial courts in Europe. Ludwig Lohner took over in 1887 and began preparing the company for motorized transport. He worked with electrical engineer Béla Egger and in 1898 hired Ferdinand Porsche. Porsche designed battery-electric vehicles using electric motors mounted in the front wheel hubs. The Lohner-Porsche chaise was exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition, and later designs used petrol-electric systems in which an engine generated electricity for the motors. Some vehicles were built for military and emergency-service applications. Porsche left in 1905, but the engineering work established Lohner as an early participant in electric mobility. In 1909 Lohner added aircraft manufacturing. Its wartime output included reconnaissance aircraft for the Austro-Hungarian army and flying boats for naval patrol work. The company also produced aircraft for Spain, and aspects of its flying-boat designs were later copied by the Italian Macchi company. After the First World War Lohner abandoned aircraft production and concentrated on trams and coachbodies. The economic crisis of the interwar period led to the closure of the Floridsdorf factory. During the Anschluss period the company manufactured aircraft wings. Its plant was damaged in 1944. After the war it was placed under public administration and returned to the Lohner family in 1949. The company resumed tram production and entered the scooter and moped market. Otto Kauba designed vehicles including the L125, L98 and Sissy. Their popularity declined as private automobiles became more common. Lohner's use of Rotax engines led to a 1959 merger that created Lohner Rotax. The combined company also produced hay-loaders, military gun carriages and, under license, Bombardier Ski-Doo snowmobiles. Bombardier acquired a majority stake in 1970 and renamed the business Bombardier-Rotax GmbH. It was later reorganized as Bombardier Wien Schienenfahrzeuge and then Bombardier Transportation Austria. After Bombardier acquired Adtranz in 2001, the Vienna works specialized in rail-vehicle carbody production, particularly for light-rail applications. A new Donaustadt plant opened in 2007. The business subsequently became part of Alstom through the 2021 acquisition of Bombardier Transportation and is principally associated with tram manufacturing.
- 2021
Bombardier Transportation becomes part of Alstom
[1]Alstom completes its acquisition of Bombardier Transportation.
- 2007
Relocation to Donaustadt
[1]The company moves to a specialized plant in Vienna's Donaustadt district.
- 2001
Vienna works join Bombardier's post-Adtranz production network
[1]Following Bombardier's acquisition of Adtranz, the Vienna operation is assigned a specialized rail-vehicle production role.
- 1970
Bombardier takes a controlling stake
[1]Bombardier acquires control and renames the company Bombardier-Rotax GmbH.
- 1959
Lohner and Rotax merge
[1]The companies form Lohner Rotax.
- 1949
Control returns to the Lohner family
[1]Following postwar public administration, the company returns to family control.
- 1909
Aircraft production begins
[1]Lohner enters aircraft manufacturing, later producing military aircraft and flying boats.
- 1900
Lohner-Porsche electric vehicle displayed in Paris
[1]An electric Lohner-Porsche vehicle is presented at the Paris Exposition.
- 1898
Ferdinand Porsche joins Lohner
[1]Porsche joins the company and designs electric and petrol-electric vehicles.
- 1887
Ludwig Lohner takes over the company
[1]Ludwig Lohner assumes control and subsequently directs the business toward self-propelled transport.
Products and positioning
A long-established Austrian engineering and manufacturing business whose identity evolved from luxury coachbuilding and pioneering electric vehicles into aircraft, scooters and, ultimately, specialized tram and rail-vehicle production.
Electric and hybrid automobiles · 1898
Lohner-Porsche electric vehicles
Early electric vehicles developed by Ferdinand Porsche at Lohner around 1898–1905. The vehicles used battery power and electric motors mounted in the front wheel hubs. Later variants incorporated petrol-electric generation systems, demonstrating an early approach to hybrid propulsion. They were produced in limited numbers and used for specialist customers rather than mass-market automobile sales.
Aircraft · 1909
Lohner aircraft
Lohner manufactured reconnaissance aircraft and flying boats during the early twentieth century. Its wartime portfolio included aircraft for the Austro-Hungarian army and naval patrol service, while additional aircraft were supplied to Spain. The company's aircraft activity ended after the First World War, when it shifted toward trams and other land-based manufacturing.
Scooter · 1949
Lohner L125
A prominent postwar Lohner scooter produced after the company resumed two-wheeler manufacturing in 1949. It used a Rotax engine and formed part of a product range that also included the L98 and Sissy. The scooter business declined as automobile ownership expanded.
Scooters and mopeds · 1949
Lohner L98 and Sissy
Models in Lohner's postwar scooter and moped range. They were designed for the Austrian market and supported the company's diversification after the Second World War, before market demand shifted toward passenger cars.
Rail vehicles
Trams and light-rail vehicles
The modern Vienna operation specializes in the manufacture of trams and related light-rail vehicle structures. Under Bombardier, the site became part of an international production network and focused on carbody and tram manufacturing. The rail activity is the principal successor to the historical Lohner industrial business.
Brand decisions
2007
Relocate to a specialized rail plantStrategyBackground
Bombardier's Vienna operation had become a specialized component of its international rail manufacturing network.
Action taken
The company moved to a new facility in Vienna's Donaustadt district.
Aftermath
The site continued primarily as a tram and rail-vehicle manufacturing operation.
1970
Join the Bombardier groupM&ABackground
Bombardier expanded its industrial interests in Austria and acquired a controlling share in Lohner Rotax.
Action taken
Bombardier took control and renamed the company Bombardier-Rotax GmbH.
Aftermath
The operation was progressively reorganized around Bombardier's rail activities and later became Bombardier Transportation Austria.
1959
Merge with RotaxM&ABackground
Lohner's scooters and mopeds used engines supplied by Rotax, creating a close industrial relationship.
Action taken
Lohner and Rotax merged to form Lohner Rotax.
Aftermath
The combined company diversified into broader industrial products before Bombardier acquired control in 1970.
1909
Enter aircraft manufacturingStrategyBackground
After developing road vehicles, Lohner expanded into aviation as demand for aircraft and military aviation capability grew in Europe.
Action taken
The company established aircraft production and supplied reconnaissance aircraft, flying boats and other designs.
Aftermath
Aircraft became an important early twentieth-century activity but was discontinued after the First World War.
Sources2 sources
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