1965

1 January 1965
Volkswagen AG acquires a majority shareholding in Auto Union from Daimler-Benz AG. The Düsseldorf plant, which Daimler-Benz had been leasing from Auto Union since 1961, is now purchased through the Daimler-Benz subsidiary Industriemotorenbau GmbH, which extends the leasing agreement.

1 January 1965
After the termination of the representation agreement with Studebaker-Packard, Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc. (MBNA), established on 17 December 1964, nominally assumes responsibility for the sale of all Daimler-Benz products in the USA. The operations of the new sales company commence on 15 March.

20 - 31 January 1965
The Mercedes-Benz LP 608, a light cab-over-engine truck in the weight category up to six tonnes, celebrates its premiere at the Brussels Motor Show. The Belgian general distributors I.M.A., S.A., present an estate built at their plant in Malines, near Brussels, on the basis of the 190 D.

30 March 1965
Berlin's Senator for Economic Affairs, Prof. Karl Schiller, offically puts a 10 m high revolving Mercedes star into operation on the roof of the Europa Center on Kurfürstendamm. The 15-tonne version of the world-famous trademark is not only the biggest Mercedes star in the Federal Republic of Germany, but also the largest revolving, hydraulically tilting neon sign in the world.

8 April 1965
The 500,000th post-war Mercedes-Benz diesel passenger car, a 190 D (W 110), rolls off the assembly line at Sindelfingen.

18 May 1965
The new Mercedes-Benz O 302 coach series is presented to the press at the Mannheim plant. Series production has been underway since March.

14 July 1965
The first truck built at the plant in Wörth – an LP 608 – leaves the assembly line.

July 1965
Daimler-Benz acquires a majority holding in Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Kraftfahrzeug- und Industriemotoren-Bau GmbH.

9 September 1965
A Daimler-Benz AG delegation, led by Hermann J. Abs, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, presents Pope Paul VI with a special version of the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet.

16 - 26 September 1965
Daimler-Benz unveils a fundamentally new model range at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. The 250 S, 250 SE and 300 SE (W 108) and 300 SEL (W 109) passenger car models supersede the W 111 and W 112 series saloons and form a totally new luxury-class series, which also constitutes a clear step up in terms of styling over the mid-series models. The mid-series W 110 presents itself in revised form with the models 200 D and 200 and the new six-cylinder 230. They are supplemented by the likewise new 230 S, a continuation of the W 111 series saloons. As previously, the intermediate range models are available as chassis for ambulances and estate cars, for the first time also in versions with lengthened wheelbase. The LP 810, LP 1013 and LP 1213 truck models represent the debut of an all-new medium-duty cab-over-engine truck series. As with the LP 1620, the engine is mounted "underfloor", allowing extra soundproofing and heat insulation as well as creating additional space. Other new products incl

1 October 1965
Dr Joachim Zahn, a member of the Board of Management since 1 October 1958, is appointed to the position of Spokesman for the Board.

31 December 1965
Prof. Fritz Nallinger takes retirement after 43 years of active service to Daimler-Benz AG, 25 of them spent on the Board of Management. His successor is Dr Hans Scherenberg, who takes over responsibility for all areas of product development.