1939

8 - 14 February 1939
Armed with two Mercedes-Benz 3-litre cars, Rudolf Caracciola breaks several Class D international records on a stretch of motorway near Dessau. First he drives a car with individually streamlined wheels – specially designed for standing starts – to 204.6 km/h over one mile on 8 February and 177.4 km/h over one kilometre on 14 February. On 9 February, driving the car with fully streamlined body, he reaches an average speed of 399.6 km/h for the one mile with flying start.

17 February - 5 March 1939
The new 230 (W 153) model is presented at the International Automobile and Motorcycle Show in Berlin, an all-new chassis and state-of-the-art body variants setting it apart from the outgoing 2.3-litre car. The new model replaces the two-seater and four-seater variants of the W 143, while the six-seaters retain their place in the range.

1 March 1939
Colonel Adolf von Schell, Executive for Motorised Transport, presents a plan to reorganise the German motor vehicle model programme. The aim is to reduce the number of models sharply and distribute them among individual manufacturers. The Schell Programme, adopted by decree on 2 March, reduces the number of car models from 52 to 30 and the number of truck models from 133 to 21. It is to take effect on 1 January 1940.

2 April 1939
At the Pau Grand Prix in France, the first outing for the 3-litre formula racing car revised and equipped for the 1939 season with the new M 163 engine, Mercedes-Benz posts a double victory with Hermann Lang and Manfred von Brauchitsch. Hermann Lang also wins the International Eifel Race on the Nürburgring on 21 May and the Belgian Grand Prix on 25 June.

26 April 1939
Captain Fritz Wendel sets an absolute speed record of 755.138 km/h in a Messerschmitt Me 209 fighter plane (internal designation: Bf 109 R) powered by a Daimler-Benz 12-cylinder 601 Re V aeroengine. The record remains unbeaten for the next 30 years.

7 May 1939
Hermann Lang and Rudolf Caracciola claim an impressive one-two victory in the Tripoli Grand Prix, the first and last race contested by the W 165 1.5-litre formula racing car. The motor sport department of Daimler-Benz had set up the new eight-cylinder racing car, which develops 254 hp / 187 kW from 1.5 litres displacement, specially for the race in Tripoli.

May 1939
The share capital of Daimler-Benz AG is increased to 39.15 million Reichsmarks by issuing new common shares. The new shares are offered to the holders of the old common shares at a subscription ratio of 1 for 2 and a price of 112 %.

11 June 1939
Hermann Lang wins the Vienna Höhenstrasse mountain road race in a Mercedes-Benz W 154 hillclimb car. On August 6 he also wins the German Mountain Grand Prix on the Grossglockner Pass in a W 125 hillclimb car to be crowned "Pan-German Hillclimb champion" of the 1939 season.

July 1939
The Mannheim plant begins series production of the LGF 3000 3-tonne truck with all-terrain capability, which has been built since July 1938 in Untertürkheim. In Mannheim alone around 8,200 units are produced by May 1941.

20 August 1939
The Swiss Grand Prix at the Bremgarten circuit near Bern ends in a triple triumph for Mercedes-Benz: Hermann Lang wins, followed by Rudolf Caracciola and Manfred von Brauchitsch, ending the season as the most successful driver.

1 September 1939
The order backlog at the outbreak of the war is twice that of the previous year, and with a volume of 600 million Reichsmarks exceeds the entire prior-year sales by half.

5 September 1939
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, the Schell Programme is replaced by a new wartime programme designed to further reduce the model range of the German motor vehicle industry. It cuts the number of car models to five; they include the Mercedes-Benz 170 V. The 3-tonne and the 4.5-tonne vehicles from Daimler-Benz production are declared strategically important trucks.

12 October 1939
The Mercedes-Benz T 80 completes its first run on a chassis dynamometre. The three-axle record-breaking car, inspired by Hans Stuck in 1936 and designed by Ferdinand Porsche, is powered by a DB 603 V12 aeroengine. The Second World War prevents its development to operational readiness.

October 1939
Car production ceases at the Mannheim plant. Production of the Mercedes-Benz 500 N is completely discontinued, while construction of the 320 model is concentrated in Untertürkheim. Production of passenger car bodies continues until June 1940; the Mannheim plant is thereafter assigned exclusively to building commercial vehicles.