Kraftwerk are/ were progressive rock? Did I miss something?

If you listen to their first 3 albums that they now disown & have never been reissued since they were originally released then yes.

Along with Tangerine Dream they were one of the originators of Krautrock, which is considered german progressive rock...Krautrock is a different twist on prog, but prog none the less.

check out zappas two prog/fusion albums, The Grand Wazoo and Waka/Jawaka

Im sorry, i meant to say electronic prog, which is a subgenre to krautrock, krautrock had been around before Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream so i didnt mean to call them the originators, they were however 2 of the earliest examples of electronic and ambient music.