Some fans call them “Schlitzflitzer”. Not inappropriate: The Carrera cars race across the tracks thanks to magnetic track support. In the 60th year of the company, innovations await off the track.
The boss’s cars also fly out of the curve. “I’m not that good, but I know how to do it,” says Stefan Krings. From the point of view of children and motorsport fans, the man has a kind of dream job. He runs Carrera.
For 60 years now, miniature versions of real racing cars and other types of cars have been racing around courses with spin-prone curves, kept on track – or not – by magnets on the underside of the vehicles. The name has become synonymous with car racetracks worldwide, says the 54-year-old company boss. “Everyone knows Carrera.” In Germany, the company, which has its roots in Fürth in Bavaria and is now based in Puch near Salzburg in Austria, has statistically provided each of the 40 million households with a train.
Popularity has not suffered
The popularity of car races in the scales 1:24, 1:32 and 1:43 has obviously not suffered even in a world with environmental and climate change. Rather, the Corona years with their reflection on games and hobbies had a very positive effect on the balance sheet, according to Krings. 2022 was a record year with sales increasing by ten percent to 121 million euros.
However, even in its anniversary year, the company has a major structural problem: its product needs space. Especially in the promising market of Asia, with its often manageable households in terms of area, fans of speeding are reaching their limits.
More than 100 Carrera arcades have now been built in China, says Krings. “People bring their cars and drive against each other there on the tracks.” The approximately 60 different track sets cannot be reduced in size, but attempts are being made to make them easier to assemble and disassemble. It stays: “The biggest enemy of the Carrera track is the mother’s spring cleaning after Christmas,” says Krings.
love since childhood
Carrera fans often look back on a long love affair. Gunnar Kaufmann has known the railways since he was a child. The fever only really got hold of him when he was an adult, he says. He meets up with other enthusiasts regularly at the Rennbahn-Center-Franken in Herolsberg near Nuremberg.
He now has 250 small racing cars, says Kaufmann. Some of them are built by Carrera, many others themselves from kits, carefully painted with several layers of paint and varnished to a high gloss. “That’s what makes toys a real hobby for kids,” he says. He regularly lets his car whiz down a 42-meter-long track in the center.
On the other hand, a red retro racing car drives more comfortably through the curves of the six-lane home-made track that evening. “That’s my second oldest,” says Stephan Billing. The Carrera car is 50 years old – and his passion has lasted almost as long – with the exception of an interruption when he was a teenager. “In principle, it is the fulfillment of a dream. You would like to be a racing driver yourself or the designer who builds a fast car.”
offspring problems
The 56-year-old Billing owns several lanes himself, a large one is permanently set up in his basement, including grandstands and pit lane. 450 racing cars are lined up in showcases on the walls. He proudly shows photos of his treasures on his smartphone. However, he says he never got his children so enthusiastic about his hobby. “It just doesn’t have a screen or a joystick. Pure skill and physics are required here.” Otherwise it will knock you out of the curve quickly. But that doesn’t appeal to many young people.
Analyzing their media consumption is one of many important tools to get the little ones excited about the railways. Krings says that TV series and video games for three to six-year-olds are now the most important factor in Carrera’s popularity. Based on the series, the characters familiar to the kids from “Paw Patrol”, “Peppa Pig” and “Mario Kart” are behind the wheel.
With bankruptcy and a change of ownership, the company also knows turbulent times. “But even in the crisis, the visibility in retail was maintained and the reputation was undamaged,” says Krings. In the meantime, Carrera has a broad base and, according to the company, is the European market leader for remote-controlled toys. Many helicopters, boats, cars and drones come from the manufacturer.
Not the only “evergreen”
Carrera is by no means the only “evergreen” among toys. The Brio wooden train, the Bobby-Car, brands such as Steiff or Märklin, parlor games such as “Settlers from Catan” or “The Crazy Labyrinth”, Lego bricks, marble runs and last but not least the “Barbie”, which has recently regained its cult status, show how indestructible toys can be , according to the German Association of the Toy Industry (DVSI).
“All of the toys mentioned translate the pedagogical claim that toys should bring with them into a special formal-aesthetic form. The idea is simple but brilliantly formed. That makes them iconic toys,” says DVSI Managing Director Ulrich Brobeil.
Carrera does not want to rest on old laurels, but has set the course for expanding its range. The cooperation with the German start-up “Sturmkind” from Speyer in Rhineland-Palatinate, including a minority stake, is intended to secure Carrera. According to the manufacturer, the cars from Speyer on a scale of 1:50 can be driven very realistically like racing cars on any smooth surface – driving freedom instead of racing in the lane.