Mercedes-Benz
- This article is about the manufacturer. For the song, see Mercedes Benz (song).
- Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz logo.svg
- Type Division of Daimler AG
- Industry Manufacturing
- Predecessor(s) Benz & Cie.
- Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft
- Founded 1886
- Founder(s) Karl Benz
- Gottlieb Daimler
- Headquarters Stuttgart, Germany
- Area served Worldwide
- Key people Dieter Zetsche, Chairman
- Products Automobiles
- Trucks
- Buses
- Internal combustion engines
- Services Financial services
- Parent Daimler AG
- Website www.mercedes-benz.com
- Mercedes-Benz (German pronunciation: [mɛʁˈtseːdəs ˈbɛnts]) is a 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-Württemberg, Germany. The name first appeared in 1926 under Daimler-Benz but traces its origins to Daimler's 1901 Mercedes and to Karl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, widely regarded as the first automobile.
· 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.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.For 2008, Mercedes-Benz's initial quality rating improved by yet another mark, to fourth place.On top of this accolade, it also received the Platinum Plant Quality Award for its Mercedes’ Sindelfingen, Germany assembly plant.In April 2011, Consumer Reports of the rates six of thirteen Mercedes-Benz models as "below average".However, J.D. Power's 2011 US Initial Quality and Vehicle Dependability Studies both ranked Mercedes-Benz vehicles above average in build quality and reliability.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)
History
- Main articles: Karl Benz, Bertha Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, Emil Jellinek, Wilhelm Maybach, and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft
- 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.Mercedes-Benz has introduced many technological and safety innovations that later became common in other vehicles. 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.
- Subsidiaries and alliances
- As part of the Daimler AG company, the Mercedes-Benz Cars division includes Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach car production.
- Mercedes-Benz AMG
- Mercedes-Benz AMG became a majority owned division of Mercedes-Benz in 1998.The company was integrated into DaimlerChrysler in 1999, and became Mercedes-Benz AMG beginning on 1 January 1999.
- Mercedes-Benz McLaren
- Main article: Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
- Between 2003 and 2009, Mercedes-Benz produced a limited-production sports car with McLaren Cars, an extension of the collaboration by which Mercedes engines are used by the Team McLaren-Mercedes Formula One racing team, which is part owned by Mercedes. McLaren ceased production of the SLR in 2009 and went on to develop its own car, the McLaren MP4-12C, launched in 2011.
- Studebaker-Packard
- In 1958, Mercedes-Benz entered into a distribution agreement with the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (USA), makers of Studebaker and Packard brand automobiles. Under the deal, Studebaker would allow Mercedes-Benz access to its dealer network in the U.S., handle shipments of vehicles to the dealers, and in return, receive compensation for each car sold. Mercedes-Benz maintained an office within the Studebaker works in South Bend from 1958 to 1963, when Studebaker's U.S. operations ceased. Many U.S Studebaker dealers converted to Mercedes-Benz dealerships at that time.
