Man and Diesel are inseparably connected through the development of engine technology. Nearly five years of intensive collaboration in the development of the diesel engine at the Augsburg machine factory, the founding company of MAN, shaped all those involved. One of Diesel's principles, that only an engine with direct injection operates economically, has been adopted by MAN and has not been abandoned to this day. Leading in steam engine technology, MAN delivered a steam plow to France in 1919, paid for by the German Empire as a reparations payment. This marked the entry into agricultural technology. In 1921, a motor plow was introduced and rated as the best on the market. In 1938, MAN presented the 50-horsepower wheeled tractor AS 250. In 1948, MAN took a new direction with the tractor AS 325 A. The design, featuring large rear wheels, small front wheels, and all wheels driven, was initially met with criticism.