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IFA W45/50 truck development Werdau. After a period of uncertainty, in March 1962 Walter Ulbricht personally and without consultation with the state planning commission took the initiative to demand a new truck with all-wheel drive. The decisive factor was the miserable conditions in the agricultural transport sector, which were discussed at the VII. German Farmers' Congress in March 1962.[3] In this context, the green light was given for the continuation of development work in Werdau, whereby the functional model, now called the W45, already largely corresponded to the later series version. The public presentation of the prototype before the series launch was unusual for the time. The KFT wrote: “The fact that in the case of the W45 LAF it is already being made public at this stage, when other new developments are still shrouded in secrecy, is because as many suggestions as possible from future users should be incorporated.”[4] As early as autumn 1962, the payload was increased to 5 tons, which changed the designation to W50.