Who owns Mercedes-Benz ?
Mercedes-Benz was owned by the Daimler-Chrysler Group. It is once again independant.
Shareholder Structure
in % of registered capital stock 12/31/2005
by Region
Germany 47.5%
Europe, without Germany 26.7%
USA 16.5%
Others 9.3%
Total 100.0%
by Ownership
Shareholders exceeding 5%
Emirate of Kuwait 7,2%
Free Float 92.8%
Institutional Investors 70.4%
Private Investors 22.4%
Total 100.0%
Brief History still to come............
History
The origins of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the Three Pointed Star.
A company's brand name and trademark are symbolic. They embrace everything - the products, the services and the company itself. It is the customers' and the public's first point of reference. Its origins and history are therefore every bit as revealing and interesting as its current status on the market.
Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz were two great engineers and company founders who never actually met. In the beginning of the eighteen eighties they built the world's first lightweight high speed engine and the first motor vehicles, thus laying the foundations for motorised transport. Both men founded their own companies individually, Benz in 1883 and Daimler in 1890, however as demand grew both at home and abroad, they gradually expanded their sales network to match.
Each company needed a memorable trademark to publicise their products. Initially the name of the inventors themselves, 'Benz' and 'Daimler', vouched for the origin and quality of the engines and vehicles. But while Benz & Cie in Mannheim kept the original name in their trademark, a completely new and unusual brand name, "Mercedes", was brought out just after the turn of the century for the products of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in Cannstatt.
The 3-Pointed Star
In 1902, the name 'Mercedes' was officially registered, but still a suitable trademark was required. Daimler had died in 1900 but his two sons, now managers of their father's company, remembered a postcard that Daimler had once sent to his wife on which a star marked the house where he was living in Deutz. He had commented that this star would rise and shine out over his work.
In 1909 a three pointed star was registered as a trademark and placed on the front of the car as a radiator emblem. Over the years, the star, which was also intended to symbolise the modernisation of transport on land, water and in the air, acquired various additions and refinements.
The period after the First World War, with inflation and sluggish sales, took a heavy toll on the German motor industry. The pioneering companies Daimler and Benz, which in the meantime had become internationally famous, formed an association of common interest in 1924 in an effort to combat this.
The aim of this alliance was to standardise the design and manufacture of their products, and to team up on purchasing, sales and advertising. Although the companies carried out joint advertising, they still used separate trademarks.
In 1926, the two oldest auto firms merged to form one company, Daimler-Benz AG. The Mercedes star has become a symbol of quality and safety and the name 'Mercedes-Benz' is a byword all over the world for both tradition and innovation.
Who was Mercedes?
Why was this name chosen? Mercedes is a Spanish name meaning 'grace'.
Mercedes was also the name of a pretty young girl born in 1889 in Vienna and the favourite daughter of the Austrian businessman and consul, General Emil Jellinek, who lived in Nice.
Forward looking and sportily inclined, Jellinek was enthusiastic about the dawn of the motoring age and believed that the motor car was of major importance for the future. In 1897, Jellinek had already made a special journey to Cannstatt. He visited the Daimler factory and brought back a car to the French Riviera which caused quite a stir.
Jellinek was a big figure in society and had good relations with the international world and aristocracy, it was not long before prospective buyers and distinguished customers were taking an interest in Daimler cars. In 1899, Jellinek entered a 23hp Daimler racing car in the 'Tour de Nice' under the pseudonym 'Mercedes'. It promptly won first prize.
The next year, a fatal accident took place during a hill-climb race and, at the instigation of Emil Jellinek and supported by Wilhelm Maybach, Daimler's brilliant designer, it was decided to adopt a new design with larger wheelbase, lower centre of gravity and more powerful engine.
Jellinek, convinced that this new design would be a big hit on the market, ordered 36 cars with a total value of 550,000 gold marks, on the condition that he be made sole agent for the sales of these cars in certain countries. Daimler agreed and also accepted Jellinek's proposal to name the cars after his daughter 'Mercedes'. The name caught on so well that soon it was used for all Daimler vehicles. The triumphs of the first Mercedes racing car in 1901 were hailed by contemporaries as the start of the 'Mercedes era' in vehicle design and motor sport.
Mercedes-Benz was owned by the Daimler-Chrysler Group. It is once again independant.
Shareholder Structure
in % of registered capital stock 12/31/2005
by Region
Germany 47.5%
Europe, without Germany 26.7%
USA 16.5%
Others 9.3%
Total 100.0%
by Ownership
Shareholders exceeding 5%
Emirate of Kuwait 7,2%
Free Float 92.8%
Institutional Investors 70.4%
Private Investors 22.4%
Total 100.0%
Brief History still to come............
History
The origins of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the Three Pointed Star.
A company's brand name and trademark are symbolic. They embrace everything - the products, the services and the company itself. It is the customers' and the public's first point of reference. Its origins and history are therefore every bit as revealing and interesting as its current status on the market.
Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz were two great engineers and company founders who never actually met. In the beginning of the eighteen eighties they built the world's first lightweight high speed engine and the first motor vehicles, thus laying the foundations for motorised transport. Both men founded their own companies individually, Benz in 1883 and Daimler in 1890, however as demand grew both at home and abroad, they gradually expanded their sales network to match.
Each company needed a memorable trademark to publicise their products. Initially the name of the inventors themselves, 'Benz' and 'Daimler', vouched for the origin and quality of the engines and vehicles. But while Benz & Cie in Mannheim kept the original name in their trademark, a completely new and unusual brand name, "Mercedes", was brought out just after the turn of the century for the products of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in Cannstatt.
The 3-Pointed Star
In 1902, the name 'Mercedes' was officially registered, but still a suitable trademark was required. Daimler had died in 1900 but his two sons, now managers of their father's company, remembered a postcard that Daimler had once sent to his wife on which a star marked the house where he was living in Deutz. He had commented that this star would rise and shine out over his work.
In 1909 a three pointed star was registered as a trademark and placed on the front of the car as a radiator emblem. Over the years, the star, which was also intended to symbolise the modernisation of transport on land, water and in the air, acquired various additions and refinements.
The period after the First World War, with inflation and sluggish sales, took a heavy toll on the German motor industry. The pioneering companies Daimler and Benz, which in the meantime had become internationally famous, formed an association of common interest in 1924 in an effort to combat this.
The aim of this alliance was to standardise the design and manufacture of their products, and to team up on purchasing, sales and advertising. Although the companies carried out joint advertising, they still used separate trademarks.
In 1926, the two oldest auto firms merged to form one company, Daimler-Benz AG. The Mercedes star has become a symbol of quality and safety and the name 'Mercedes-Benz' is a byword all over the world for both tradition and innovation.
Who was Mercedes?
Why was this name chosen? Mercedes is a Spanish name meaning 'grace'.
Mercedes was also the name of a pretty young girl born in 1889 in Vienna and the favourite daughter of the Austrian businessman and consul, General Emil Jellinek, who lived in Nice.
Forward looking and sportily inclined, Jellinek was enthusiastic about the dawn of the motoring age and believed that the motor car was of major importance for the future. In 1897, Jellinek had already made a special journey to Cannstatt. He visited the Daimler factory and brought back a car to the French Riviera which caused quite a stir.
Jellinek was a big figure in society and had good relations with the international world and aristocracy, it was not long before prospective buyers and distinguished customers were taking an interest in Daimler cars. In 1899, Jellinek entered a 23hp Daimler racing car in the 'Tour de Nice' under the pseudonym 'Mercedes'. It promptly won first prize.
The next year, a fatal accident took place during a hill-climb race and, at the instigation of Emil Jellinek and supported by Wilhelm Maybach, Daimler's brilliant designer, it was decided to adopt a new design with larger wheelbase, lower centre of gravity and more powerful engine.
Jellinek, convinced that this new design would be a big hit on the market, ordered 36 cars with a total value of 550,000 gold marks, on the condition that he be made sole agent for the sales of these cars in certain countries. Daimler agreed and also accepted Jellinek's proposal to name the cars after his daughter 'Mercedes'. The name caught on so well that soon it was used for all Daimler vehicles. The triumphs of the first Mercedes racing car in 1901 were hailed by contemporaries as the start of the 'Mercedes era' in vehicle design and motor sport.
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