The first part of the network opened in 1894 as a gas-powered tram line, and electric operation began on 26 March 1901.

At the time of German reunification the tram fleet in Dessau still consisted of two-axle vehicles which required urgent replacement.

Four of these were sold again to Norrköping in 1997, with the remaining ten covering all services in Dessau until the arrival of new low-floor trams in 2001.

[3] The current rolling stock fleet consists of ten Flexity Classic NGT6DE unidirectional low-floor trams, numbered 301-310.

These trams were delivered between 2001 and 2002 and have six-axles, two articulated sections and a length of 21 m. The trams were built by Bombardier Transportation in Bautzen, with the front and back sections produced by Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau.