Alongside the DKW F89 passenger car, it was the first vehicle to be manufactured by the new Auto Union conglomerate in Ingolstadt following the re-establishment of the business in West Germany.

[1] The Schnellaster is of a one box or monospace configuration featuring front wheels set forward in the passenger cabin, a short sloping aerodynamic hood, front wheel drive, transverse engine (early, two cylinder models only), flat load floor throughout with flexible seating and cargo accommodations.

The Finnish heavy vehicle producer Suomen Autoteollisuus assembled a series of ten Schnellasters in Karis, Finland, at the turn of November 1956.

Plans were in place for a larger scale production but it was not started because the technically archaic vehicle did not meet the needs of the potential Finnish customers.

The factory had closed its doors, but Industrias Mecánicas del Estado (IAME) continued production of the DKW F1000 L as the Rastrojero Frontalito from 1969 until 1979 in single and double cab pickup and flatbed, minibus, and van versions.