View source for Daimler-Benz

;''This page was originally added to tie up various links to the company from other articles.''
{{for|British company with a similar name|Daimler Motor Company}}


{{about|the 1926–1998 Daimler-Benz|information on the current company|Daimler AG}}
{{refimprove|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox company
|name             = Daimler-Benz AG
|logo             = [[File:Daimler logo.jpg|250px]]
|type             = [[Public company]]
|fate             = [[incorporation (business)|Reincorporated]]
|successor        = [[Daimler AG]]
|foundation       = 1926
|defunct          = 1998
|location_city    = [[Stuttgart]]
|location_country = Germany
|key_people       = [[Karl Benz]], [[Gottlieb Daimler]]
|industry         = [[automotive industry|Automotive]],<br>[[Military]]
|products         = [[Motor vehicle]]s,<br>[[internal combustion engine]]s,<br>[[military technology and equipment]]
|divisions        = [[Mercedes-Benz]]
|footnotes        =
|intl             = yes
}}
[[Image:Znaczek Mercedesa.jpg|thumb|right|The iconic symbol of [[Mercedes-Benz]]]]

'''Daimler-Benz AG''' ({{IPA-de|ˈdaɪmlɐ ˈbɛnts}}) was a German manufacturer of [[automobile]]s, [[motor vehicles]], and [[internal combustion engine]]s; 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|Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft]], which had been founded by [[Gottlieb Daimler]] and [[Wilhelm Maybach]].  Daimler had died in 1900, and Maybach had left in 1907.

Both companies continued to manufacture their separate automobile and internal combustion engine [[marque]]s until, on 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 (car)|Mercedes]] series, which were designed and built by [[Wilhelm Maybach]].  They derived their name from a 1900 engine named after the [[Mércédès Jellinek|daughter]] of [[Emil Jellinek]].  Jellinek became one of DMG's directors in 1900, ordered a small number of [[auto racing|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 [[Gottlieb Daimler|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]]), so the new company, Daimler-Benz, would have created confusion and legal problems to include Daimler in its new brand name, and therefore, used 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. The slaves "toiled eighteen hours a day; cowering under the lash, sleeping six to a dog kennel eight feet square, starving or freezing to death at the whim of their guards."<ref name="Clarke">Clarke, Alan. ''Barbarossa'', Orion Books, 1995. ISBN 978-0-304-35864-9.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=DaimlerChrysler AG - The History of Daimler-Benz AG|url=http://www.enotes.com/company-histories/daimlerchrysler-ag/history-daimler-benz-ag|accessdate=27 January 2011}}</ref>

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

==See also==
*[[Mercedes-Benz]] - main trading name
*[[Unimog]] - Tractor building division
*[[Hanomag]] Daimler had an interest in the company
*[[Detroit Diesel]] - owned by Daimler-Benz

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.daimler.com official web site]

{{wikipedia}}

[[Category:Companies of Germany]]
[[Category:Companies of Europe]]
[[Category:Mercedes-Benz]]
[[Category:Daimler AG]]
[[Category:Truck manufacturers of Germany]]
[[Category:Bus manufacturers of Germany]]
[[Category:Companies founded in 1926]]