What is the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand?
1 Answers
The brand history of Mercedes-Benz is as follows: 1. The origin of Mercedes-Benz Automobile Company: On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz, the founder of Benz & Cie., invented his first gasoline-powered three-wheeler and applied for a patent, marking the birth of the automobile. In the same year, Gottlieb Daimler also test-drove his first four-wheel gasoline car. Later, in recognition of their contributions, they were honored as the "Fathers of the Automobile," and January 29 was designated as the World Automobile Birth Day. In 1894, Benz & Cie. produced the world's first gasoline-powered bus, and in 1896, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) produced the world's first gasoline-powered truck. After World War I, during the economic depression, Ford's versatile passenger and cargo vehicles became popular in the market. To reduce mutual competition and cope with the market crisis, Benz & Cie. and DMG announced a merger, forming "Daimler-Benz Automobile Company," which is now known as Mercedes-Benz. 2. The origin of the name "Mercedes-Benz": Mercedes was the name of the beautiful daughter of a DMG dealer named Emil Jellinek. This dealer had a penchant for extreme speed. In 1899, she drove a custom-built high-end DMG car to victory in a car rally. The dealer believed that this success was not only due to DMG's car but also to his daughter, Mercedes Jellinek. He then suggested, as a condition for purchasing cars, that DMG name its cars after his daughter. DMG gladly accepted. After the name change, car sales increased significantly. Thus, after the merger of DMG and Benz & Cie., the name "Mercedes-Benz" was adopted. 3. The origin of the Mercedes-Benz logo: Early DMG cars used a three-pointed star as their emblem, inspired by a letter Daimler wrote to his wife. He believed that the star on his house's roof would bring him good luck, and the three-pointed star symbolized DMG's expansion into land, sea, and air. Later, to celebrate the mass production of its VELO model, DMG replaced the gear inside the circle with laurel branches. Benz initially used a logo with "BENZ" surrounded by wheat ears. After the merger, the logo featured a three-pointed star, wheat ears, and "Mercedes-Benz." Later, the wheat ears were replaced by a circle, and the English lettering was removed, evolving into the current logo we see today.