Autobahn is the fourth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released in November 1974 by Philips Records. The album marked several personnel changes in the band, which was initially a duo consisting of Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter; later, the group added Klaus Röder on guitar and flute, and Wolfgang Flür on percussion. The album also completed the group's transition from the experimental krautrock style of their earlier work to an electronic pop sound consisting mostly of synthesizers and drum machines. Recording started at the group's own Kling Klang facility, but was predominantly made at Conny Plank's studio. Autobahn also includes lyrics and a new look for the group that was suggested by Emil Schult, an associate of Schneider and Hütter.

Most of the album is taken up by the 22-minute "Autobahn", featuring lyrics by Schneider, Hütter, and Schult. The song was inspired by the group's joy of driving on Germany's autobahns, and recorded music that reflected a trip emulating the sounds of a vehicle. The album's release in West Germany saw little press attention. "Autobahn" was released as a single and received airplay at a Chicago radio station, leading it to spread across the United States. In 1975, the song became an international hit and Kraftwerk's first release of their music in the US. "Autobahn"'s success led to the band touring the United States with new member Karl Bartos, who replaced Röder, followed by a tour of the United Kingdom.

Initial reception to Autobahn was mixed; receiving negative reviews, from Rolling Stone and Village Voice, who felt the music was inferior to earlier music from Wendy Carlos and Mike Oldfield, and positive reviews that praised the title track as hypnotic and arresting for its imagery of driving on the autobahn. Critics from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Newsday included the album in their "Honorable Mentions" sections of their year-end lists. Retrospectively, the album has been unanimously praised; Simon Witter wrote in NME the album is of "enormous historical significance" and Simon Reynolds said the album is where Kraftwerk's music really starts to matter. Musicians of the 1970s and 1980s, including David Bowie, cited the album as a major influence.

Prior to the release of Autobahn, Kraftwerk consisted of Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter, who had released an album titled Ralf & Florian in October 1973. Prior to Autobahn, electronic music did not develop a popular following in the United States with a few exceptions such as the works of fellow German band Tangerine Dream. According to critic Lynn Van Matre of the Chicago Tribune in 1975, "far too often much of what has been profferred has been either boring, painfully self-indulgent, or just plain painful". In comparison, Van Matre found "Autobahn" to be "what you might call middle-of-the-road electronics". Comparing the album's sounds to the group's earlier work, Michael Hooker of the Los Angeles Times noted the music of Ralf & Florian is more traditional compared to that of Autobahn, noting its resemblance to the works of composers Morton Subotnik and Edgar Froese rather than the "monotonous pulse" of Autobahn. Kraftwerk became more conscious of their visual image and, under the guidance of their associate Emil Schult, they began redesigning their look. Schult, who had studied under Joseph Beuys, consulted the band on their themes and image. This led to Kraftwerk having small, carefully staged promotional images for the rest of their career. In a 1975 interview published in Melody Maker, Karl Dallas noted Kraftwerk's music and look were "as far as you get from the Gothic romanticism of Tangerine Dream" and that "visually they also present a completely different image", comparing Tangerine Dream's Froese's "untidy red locks", and bandmates Peter Baumann's and Christopher Franke's "long, lank tresses".

In early 1974, like their German contemporaries, Kraftwerk purchased a Minimoog synthesizer, which they used alongside customized versions of the Farfisa Rhythm Unit 10 and Vox Percussion King drum machines on the album. Autobahn was recorded at the group's home studio Kling Klang and at Conny Plank's new studio in a farmhouse outside Cologne. The majority of Autobahn was made on Plank's equipment. Accompanying Schneider and Hütter on the album are Klaus Roeder on violin and guitar, and Wolfgang Flür on percussion. Roeder, who was a member of Düsseldorf's music scene, had built an electronic violin that intrigued Schneider. Flür was an interior design student who had drummed for a Düsseldorf band called The Beathovens. Flür stated he found initial jam sessions with the group somewhat strange but soon developed a rapport with his bandmates. Conny Plank is credited as the engineer on the album but he had a key contribution to its sound. Roeder later stated: "Plank played a decisive role. He mixed everything and assembled individual sounds into a whole. That was, I believe the last time that Conny did that. He then told me he did know what Kraftwerk would sound like when he was no longer there."

In the book Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop, Carsten Brocker said that with Autobahn, Kraftwerk completed the transition from their earlier style of experimental krautrock to electronic pop music. The album was recorded primarily on synthesizer and drum machine, with occasional flute and guitar. Brocker commented on the group's simple melodies and harmonies suggest pop music. According to Bartos, the group's change in style occurred because Hütter and Schneider came from a classical music background, and they moved to pop music by adding lyrics because "There is no pop music without lyrics apparently". The change in musical direction was influenced by Schult, who was not trained as a musician but has an ear for melody and chose effective parts of improvised sessions, and led Hütter and Schneider to explore by simplifying their own musical sessions. There are very few vocals on Autobahn; critic Van Matre described the album as "simply an impression of the sounds and sensory perceptions of the road".

Hütter repeatedly described Kraftwerk's music as Industrielle Volksmusik (lit. 'industrial folk music'), specifically referencing a modern version of German regional musical traditions rather than the industrial music sound of groups like Throbbing Gristle. In Britain, electronic music was popularly known as "Doctor Who music", referencing the pioneering electronic soundtrack to the television series. Hütter stated in 1975 Kraftwerk got the idea for the album by driving on the autobahn, stating it was an "exciting experience that makes you run through a huge variety of feelings. We tried to convey through music what it felt like." Flür later described "Autobahn" as a journey from Düsseldorf to Hamburg and said that the route included musical pieces such as the industrial sounds of the Ruhr valley, the conveyor belts of the mining towns such as Bottrop and Castrop-Rauxel, and the rural Münster region, which is symbolized by the flute in the song. Other sounds of road travel are heard throughout the song; according to Hütter, the group included "car sounds, horns, basic melodies and tuning motors. Adjusting the suspension and tyre pressure, rolling on the asphalt, that gliding sound—phhhwwtphhhwwt—when the wheels go onto those painted stripes. It's sound poetry, and also very dynamic."

"Autobahn" was co-written by Schult, whom Hütter asked to write some lyrics. The song's lyrics are in German; Schneider reflected on this, stating: "Part of our music is derived from the feeling of our language ... our method of speaking is interrupted, hard-edged if you want; a lot of consonants and noises". According to Hütter, their language was used like a musical instrument; he said: "we are not singers in the sense of Rod Stewart, we use our voices as another instrument. Language is just another pattern of rhythm, it is one part of our unified sound." In a 1991 interview, Hütter stated that there was no expectations for the release of Autobahn, and that "We played it to our friends, and a few of them said 'Fahren auf der Autobahn!? You've gone crazy!'. We just put records out and see what happens, otherwise we'd end up over-calculating this or that." The album's four other tracks are shorter electro-acoustic pieces. "Kometenmelodie" ("Comet Melody") was inspired by Comet Kohoutek, which passed by Earth in 1973. Hütter said "Morgenspaziergang" ("Morning Walk") was influenced by the group's early morning walk when leaving their studio after late-night sessions, when they observed the silence of their surroundings. The two-part "Kometenmelodie" was described as "post-psychedelic kosmische" by Chris Power in Drowned in Sound.