Mercedes-Benz

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This article is about the manufacturer. For the song, see Mercedes Benz (song). Mercedes-Benz (German pronunciation: [mtseds bnts]) is a multinational division of the German manufacturer Daimler AG, and the brand is used for automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Wrttemberg, Germany. The name first appeared in 1926 underDaimlerBenz but traces its origins to Daimler's 1901 Mercedes and to Karl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, widely regarded as the first automobile.

History
Mercedes-Benz S-class

Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to Karl Benz's creation of the first petrol-powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, patented in January 1886[1] and Gottlieb Daimler and engineer Wilhelm Maybach's conversion of a stagecoach by the addition of a petrol engine later that year. The Mercedes automobile was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. The first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicles were produced in 1926, following the merger of Karl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's companies into the Daimler-Benz company.[1] Mercedes-Benz has introduced many technological and safety innovations that later became common in other vehicles.[2] Mercedes-Benz is one of the most well-known and established automotive brands in the world, and is also the world's oldest automotive brand still in existence today. For information relating to the famous three-pointed star, see under the title Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft including the merger into Daimler-Benz.

[edit]Subsidiaries

and alliances

As part of the Daimler AG company, the Mercedes-Benz Cars division includes MercedesBenz, Smart and Maybach car production.[3]

[edit]Mercedes-AMG
Mercedes-AMG became a majority owned division of Mercedes-Benz in 1998.[4] The company was integrated into DaimlerChrysler in 1999,[5] and became Mercedes-Benz AMG beginning on 1 January 1999.[6]

[edit]Mercedes-Benz

McLaren

Between 2003 and 2009, Mercedes-Benz produced a limited-production sports car with McLaren Cars. The resulting Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was an extension of the collaboration by which Mercedes engines are used by the Team McLaren-Mercedes Formula One racing team, which was then part owned by Mercedes. McLaren ceased production of the SLR in 2009 and went on to develop its own car, theMcLaren MP4-12C, launched in 2011.

[edit]Production [edit]Factories
Besides its native Germany, Mercedes-Benz vehicles are also manufactured or assembled in:

Argentina -Austria ( Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil[9] Canada China Egypt via Finland Hungary[11] India (Pune)[12] Indonesia[13] Iran (not since 2010[14]) Malaysia[15] Mexico - Nigeria[16] - Philippines Spain South Africa[17] South Korea. Thailand Turkey[19] United Kingdom [edit]

Quality rankings

Objective measures looking at passenger vehicles, such as J. D. Power surveys, demonstrated a downturn in the quality and reliability ratings of Mercedes vehicles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By mid-2005, Mercedes temporarily returned to the industry average for initial quality, a measure of problems after the first 90 days of ownership, according to J.D. Power.[23] In J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study for the first quarter of 2007, Mercedes showed dramatic improvement by climbing from 25th to 5th place, for the first time surpassing quality leader Toyota, and earning several awards for its models.[24] For 2008, Mercedes-Benz's initial quality rating improved by yet another mark, to fourth place.[25] On top of this accolade, it also received the Platinum Plant Quality Award for its Mercedes Sindelfingen, Germany assembly plant.[25] J.D. Power's 2011 US Initial Quality and Vehicle Dependability Studies both ranked Mercedes-Benz vehicles above average in build quality and reliability.[26][27] In the 2011 UK JD Power Survey, Mercedes cars rated above average (scoring ahead of both BMW and Audi, but trailing behind in its quality rating to the industry leader Lexus, as has been the case in all previous years).[28]

[edit]Models [edit]Current

model range

Mercedes-Benz carries a full range of passenger, light commercial and heavy commercial equipment. Vehicles are manufactured in multiple countries worldwide. The Smart marque of city cars and Maybach luxury cars are also produced by Daimler AG.

[edit]Passenger cars
See also: List of Mercedes-Benz vehicles The following passenger vehicles were in production in 2012:

A-ClassHatchback B-ClassMulti-Activity C-ClassSaloon, Estate & Coup CL-ClassLuxury Coup CLS-Class4 Door Coup E-ClassSaloon, Estate, Coup & Cabriolet G-ClassSports Utility Vehicle (SUV) GL-ClassSports Utility Vehicle (SUV) GLK-Class - Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) M-ClassSports Utility Vehicle (SUV) R-ClassLuxury Tourer Vehicle (LTV) S-ClassLuxury Sedan SL-ClassRoadster SLK-ClassRoadster SLS AMGCoup and Roadster VianoMulti Purpose Vehicle (MPV)

[edit]Trucks
See also: List of Mercedes-Benz trucks Mercedes-Benz Trucks is now part of the Daimler Trucks division, and includes companies that were part of the DaimlerChrysler merger. Gottlieb Daimler sold the world's first truck in 1886.[29]

[edit]Buses and vans

Main article: Mercedes-Benz buses

Mercedes-Benz Vario

Mercedes-Benz also produces buses, mainly for Europe and Asia. Mercedes-Benz produces a range of vans. The first factory to be built outside Germany after WWII was in Argentina. It originally built trucks, many of which were modified independently to buses, popularly named Colectivo. Today, it builds buses, trucks and the Sprinter van.

Innovations
Numerous technological innovations have been introduced on Mercedes-Benz automobiles throughout the many years of their production, including:

The internal combustion engined automobile was developed independently by Benz and Daimler & Maybach in 1886 Daimler invented the honeycomb radiator of the type still used on all water-cooled vehicles today Daimler invented the float carburetor which was used until replaced by fuel injection The "drop chassis"the car originally designated the "Mercedes" by Daimler was also the first car with a modern configuration, having the carriage lowered and set between the front and rear wheels, with a front engine and powered rear wheels. All earlier cars were "horseless carriages", which had high centres of gravity and various engine/drive-train configurations The first passenger road car to have brakes on all four wheels (1924)[63] The "safety cage" or "safety cell" construction with front and rear crumple zones was first developed by Mercedes-Benz in 1951. This is considered by many as the most important innovation in automobile construction from a safety standpoint[2][verification needed] In 1959, Mercedes-Benz patented a device that prevents drive wheels from spinning by intervening at the engine, transmission, or brakes. In 1987, Mercedes-Benz applied its patent by introducing atraction control system that worked under both braking and acceleration Traction control and airbags in the European market, were Mercedes-Benz innovations.[citation needed] These technologies were introduced in 1986, and 1980 respectively In September 2003, Mercedes-Benz introduced the world's first seven-speed automatic transmission called '7G-Tronic'

[edit]Sponsorships

Mercedes-Benz sponsors Mario Gtze

In football, Mercedes-Benz sponsors Mario Gtze and Benedikt Hwedes. Mercedes-Benz sponsors Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart and provides the naming rights for their stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Arena.