Daimler-Benz

Daimler-Benz AG
Public company
Industry Automotive,
Military
Fate Reincorporated following purchase of Chrysler Corporation
Successor DaimlerChrysler (1998–2007) Daimler AG (2007–present)
Founded 1926
Defunct 1998
Headquarters Stuttgart, Germany
Key people
 Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler
Products Motor vehicles,
internal combustion engines,
military technology and equipment
Divisions Mercedes-Benz
Website www.daimler.de Edit this on Wikidata
The iconic symbol of Mercedes-Benz

Daimler-Benz AG (German pronunciation: [ˈdaɪ̯mlɐ ˈbɛnt͡s]) was a German manufacturer of motor vehicles and internal combustion engines, which was founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest – which was valid until 2000 – was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, which had been founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Daimler had died in 1900, and Maybach had left in 1907.

History

Both companies continued to manufacture their separate automobile and internal combustion engine marques until 28 June 1926, when Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft formally merged - becoming Daimler-Benz AG (Aktiengesellschaft) - and agreed that thereafter, all of the factories would use the brand name of "Mercedes-Benz" on their automobiles. The inclusion of the name Mercedes in the new brand name honored the most important model series of DMG automobiles, the Mercedes series, which were designed and built by Wilhelm Maybach. They derived their name from a 1900 engine named after the daughter of Emil Jellinek. Jellinek became one of DMG's directors in 1900, ordered a small number of motor racing cars built to his specifications by Maybach, stipulated that the engine must be named Daimler-Mercedes, and made the new automobile famous through motorsports. That race car later became known as the Mercedes 35 hp. The first of the series of production models bearing the name Mercedes had been produced by DMG in 1902. Jellinek left the DMG board of directors in 1909.

The name of Daimler as a marque of automobiles had been sold by DMG - following his death in 1900 - for use by other companies (Daimler Motor Company and Austro-Daimler). Since the new company, Daimler-Benz, would have created confusion and legal problems by including Daimler in its new brand name, it therefore used the name Mercedes to represent the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft interest. Karl Benz remained as a member of the board of directors of Daimler-Benz AG until his death in 1929.

Although Daimler-Benz is best known for its Mercedes-Benz automobile brand, during World War II, it also created a notable series of aircraft, tank, and submarine engines. Daimler also produced parts for German arms, most notably barrels for the Mauser rifle. During World War II, Daimler-Benz employed slave labour.

In 1989, Daimler-Benz InterServices AG (Debis) was created to handle data processing, financial and insurance services, and real estate management for the Daimler group.[1]

In 1998, Daimler-Benz AG bought the American automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation and formed DaimlerChrysler AG. When the Chrysler Group was subsequently sold off to Cerberus Capital Management and renamed Chrysler LLC in August 2007, the name of the parent company was changed to simply Daimler AG within two months.

References

  1. ↑ "DaimlerChrysler AG - The History of Daimler-Benz AG". Retrieved 27 January 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.