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1966

Event10

Expanded involvement in South Africa

Expanded involvement in South Africa

8 March 1966
Daimler-Benz takes a 26.7 % holding in United Car and Diesel Distributors (Pty.) Ltd. (UCCD) in Pretoria, South Africa. Among the products assembled by the long-standing Daimler-Benz general distributor for South Africa – through its wholly-owned subsidiary Car Distributors Assembly Ltd. (CDA) in East London – are Mercedes-Benz vehicles (from CKD parts kits).

Production start-up for the 300 SEL

Production start-up for the 300 SEL

March 1966
Production begins at the Sindelfingen plant of the 300 SEL (W 109) passenger car, which differs from the 300 SE (W 108) by virtue of its standard air suspension and 10 cm longer wheelbase.

100,000th power steering unit produced

100,000th power steering unit produced

March 1966
The Düsseldorf plant produces its 100,000th power steering unit.

Enlarged Unimog model range presented

Enlarged Unimog model range presented

8 - 15 May 1966
At the DLG exhibition in Frankfurt am Main, Daimler-Benz presents an enlarged Unimog model range to which a segment midway between the 411 and the 406/416 series has been added. The Unimog U 40 (421 series), in production since January, is equipped with a 2-litre pre-chamber diesel unit boworred from the passenger car division, while the U 54 (403 series) is powered by a 3.8-litre four-cylinder direct injection unit from the truck engine range.

Automatic transmissions increasingly popular

Automatic transmissions increasingly popular

May 1966
The 100,000th automatic transmission for passenger cars is completed at the Hedelfingen sub-plant of the Untertürkheim plant. In 1966, 23 % of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars are fitted with automatic transmission.

Daimler-Benz and VW do joint research

25 June 1966
Daimler-Benz AG and Volkswagenwerk AG set up Deutsche Automobilgesellschaft in Hanover as a jointly run research and development company.

Station wagon from Belgium: Mercedes-Benz UNIVERSAL

Station wagon from Belgium: Mercedes-Benz UNIVERSAL

August 1966
The estates built in Belgium at I.M.A., S.A., on the basis of the 200 D, 200, 230 and 230 S models now also are offered in the German market as "Mercedes-Benz UNIVERSAL".

Merger in engine manufacture

28 October 1966
Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH and Mercedes-Benz Motorenbau GmbH merge, creating Maybach Mercedes-Benz Motorenbau GmbH based in Friedrichshafen-Manzell. Daimler-Benz has an 83 % holding.

Turkey: bus assembly begins

Turkey: bus assembly begins

3 December 1966
Daimler-Benz AG takes a 36 % stake in the newly-founded Otobüs ve Motorlu Araclar Sanayi A.S. (OTOMARSAN), based in Istanbul, Turkey. In mid-1968 the company takes up parts manufacture for and assembly of O 302 buses.

Daimler-Benz extends influence

Daimler-Benz extends influence

30 December 1966
Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Kraftfahrzeug- und Industriemotoren-Bau GmbH, Daimler-Benz acquires a majority holding in Württembergische Baumwollspinnerei und -Weberei in Brühl near Esslingen, whose plant premises were leased by the company in April 1961.