Although the area had been liberated by the American army, it had already been agreed between the victor powers under the Potsdam Agreement that the entire region would fall within the Soviet Occupation Zone and many Germans fled to the western part of Germany at this time.
The longer term outlook for any form of German manufacturing industry remained at this stage unclear, and Auto Union's plant, located in the Soviet zone, was out of reach.
But with financing from the Bavarian Regional government and Marshall Plan funding, it was possible to create in September 1949 a new company in West Germany called Auto Union GmbH, and based at the Ingolstadt parts depot.
At this stage automobile production was established in a rented factory several hundred kilometers to the west, in Düsseldorf, but in due course it would be possible to finance and built a car plant at the new company's spacious site in Ingolstadt.
On May 26, 2014, a new investigative report was issued by AUDI that condemned Bruhn for close association with Nazi leaders and extensive use of concentration camp inmates as forced labor.