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14 - 22 January 2006
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The E 320 BLUETEC, which is scheduled for launch on the US market in the autumn, makes its debut at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan/USA. BLUETEC-equipped diesel passenger cars meet the world's toughest emission limits, including those in all 50 US states. As a further show highlight the Mercedes-Benz brand displays its first full-size SUV: the new GL-Class of the X 164 series, built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama/USA. The S 65 AMG also has its world premiere as top-of-the-range S-Class model (221 series).
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24 January 2006
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DaimlerChrysler AG unveils its "New Management Model", designed to make business organisation faster, more flexible, leaner and more efficient through increasing integeration. Together with other ongoing efficiency enhancement programmes, it should cut administrative costs by € 1.5 billion annually and reduce administrative staff by up to 20 % over the next three years.
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7 February 2006
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In the Intelligent Light System, Mercedes-Benz presents a new generation of adaptive headlamps. They adjust to the prevailing road and weather situation and thus offer a distinct safety advantage. The Intelligent Light System is available in the facelifted saloons and estates of the 211 series E-Class starting in April.
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2 - 12 March 2006
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The exclusive high-performance models Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG and CLK 63 AMG celebrate their world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. The upgraded SL-models from the R 230 series and the CLS 350 CGI with spray-guided petrol direct injection also make their first appearance; with the Vision CLS 320 BLUETEC and the Vision GL 320 BLUETEC, Mercedes-Benz shows two pioneers of a new generation of especially environment-friendly diesel vehicles. The new GL-Class (X 164 series) is shown for the first time in Europe.
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March 2006
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The DaimlerChrysler Board of Management adopts a package of measures intended to make the smart brand future-proof and more profitable. It includes the discontinuation of the smart forfour and the integration of smart in the Mercedes-Benz organisation. The next generation of the smart fortwo is scheduled for introduction in 2007.
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14 - 23 April 2006
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At the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), Mercedes-Benz presents the upgraded generation of E-Class saloons and estates (211 series), which makes many innovations like ADAPTIVE BRAKE or the PRE-SAFE anticipatory occupant protection system available in the premium midsize segment for the first time. The new top-of-the-range E 63 AMG is the most powerful E-Class to date, developing 378 kW / 541 hp from its M 156 V8 engine.
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11 May 2006
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In Brussels Daimler Chrysler introduces what experts consider to be the safest series-built truck in the world to European transportation and environmental policymakers. The Mercedes-Benz Safety Truck, which is presented in twelve European countries during the following weeks, is fitted with numerous assistance systems, including Lane Assistant, Telligent proximity control and Telligent stability control. The proximity control is the basis for Active Brake Assist (ABA), which automatically initiates emergency braking when a collision with a vehicle ahead appears inevitable. Capable of series production, ABA can prevent the majority of rear-end crashes and is presented for the first time in the Safety Truck. From September it is offered as special equipment for Actros semitrailer tractors.
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19 May 2006
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In the presence of numerous guests from the political, business and social spheres, DaimlerChrysler Board of Management Chairman Dr Dieter Zetsche and Baden-Württemberg's Minister President Günther Oettinger officially open the new Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim. It is the largest museum in the world dedicated to an automobile brand and sets architectonic trends. Together with the Mercedes-Benz Center it forms a sensational ensemble where visitors can experience the excitement of the Mercedes-Benz brand.
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21 June 2006
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With the PRE-SAFE Brake Mercedes-Benz presents another seminal innovation which opens up a new dimension of vehicle safety. The system detects an impending rear-end collision and carries out automatic partial braking. This can significantly reduce the severity of the accident, but still gives the driver the chance to avoid impact. The PRE-SAFE Brake is available in the S-Class (221 series) and the new CL Coupé (C 216 series) starting in September.
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23 June 2006
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The first van of the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van series built at the Ludwigsfelde plant rolls off the assembly line in the presence of Brandenburg's Minister President Matthias Platzeck and DaimlerChrysler Board of Management Chairman Dr Dieter Zetsche. The production of Sprinter pickups and chassis is concentrated in Ludwigsfelde. The arctic white pickup with crewcab is handed over to the Teltow-Fläming youth joiner's workshop, a training project for youths and young adults run by social educators.
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28 June 2006
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DaimlerChrysler announces in Detroit, Michigan/USA, that the smart brand will enter the US market. From the start of 2008 the successor model of the smart fortwo will be available in three versions in the USA. With that, smart taps into the world's largest car market, its 37th country. The American sales partner United Auto Group, Inc., will undertake to build and maintain a smart dealership network in the USA and Puerto Rico.
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5 July 2006
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Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC) presents a new hybrid commercial vehicle for the Japanese market in Tokyo. The new Canter Eco Hybrid is the most environment-friendly series-produced light truck in the world and the first light truck to meet the stringent emission laws applicable in Japan as of August 2007. In addition, the vehicle has the highest fuel efficiency of all Japanese hybrid commercial vehicles.
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7 July 2006
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DaimlerChrysler presents the Mercedes-Benz Safety Coach to international coach experts from 18 European countries on the training grounds of the Hockenheimring circuit. The "safest touring coach in the world" is based on the latest generation of the Mercedes-Benz Travego. It combines all existing safety technologies, supplementing them with the Lane Assistant and adaptive cruise control assistance systems newly offered for coaches.
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11 July 2006
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The new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition is released for sale. With an output of 478 kW / 650 hp the new variant of the 199 series surpasses the already outstanding performance of the current SLR McLaren. The limited series of 150 units is largely made by hand at McLaren in Woking, UK.
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18 - 30 July 2006
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The smart fortwo ev (electric vehicle) celebrates its world premiere at the British International Motor Show in London. With its 30 kW / 41 hp electric motor and the ZEBRA high-energy battery the smart fortwo ev attains a range of 110 kilometres on one battery charge and top speeds of 120 km/h. The battery is designed for at least 1,000 charging cycles or ten years.
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21 July 2006
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With the AMG Performance Studio, Mercedes-AMG GmbH starts a new initiative to meet individual customer requirements. Along with the AMG high-performance automobiles available through the worldwide Mercedes-Benz sales organisation, the Performance Studio develops and produces special AMG vehicles in exclusive numbers. The first to benefit is the SLK 55 AMG Black Series, which makes extraordinary driving experiences possible with its 294 kW / 400 hp V8 engine from the M 113 series and many lightweight components, including the carbon-fibre hardtop.
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10 August 2006
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The Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach unit delivers the first seven Mercedes-Benz Citaro urban regular service buses with 205 kW / 279 hp horizontally installed OM 906h LA Euro 5 turbodiesel engines – long before the entry into force of the statutory Euro 5 EU emission regulation in 2008/2009. The Citaro complies with the strict EU 5 limits thanks to innovative BlueTec technology with AdBlue injection and selective catalytic reduction (SCR).
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24 - 26 August 2006
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Freightliner presents the medium-duty trucks of its Business Class M2 106 as a prototype with hybrid drive at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas/USA. The 187 kW / 254 hp Mercedes-Benz OM 906 six-cylinder diesel engine is combined with a 44 kW / 60 hp electric motor fed by lithium-ion batteries. The hybrid drive system also permits quiet, zero-emission operation of auxiliary units such as elevating platforms and pumps, without use of the internal combustion engine.
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5 September 2006
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In the presence of Board of Management member Andreas Renschler, DaimlerChrysler presents the latest safety standards for commercial vehicles to representatives of the political community, government agencies, trade associations, insurance companies and the media. As part of the "Mercedes-Benz Safety Technology" initiative, the Safety Van is demonstrated alongside the Safety Truck and the Safety Bus in a trial drive on a new section of the A 113 motorway. Apart from its exemplary passive safety concept, the Safety Van also is equipped as standard with Adaptive ESP. The further developed variant of ESP has additional functions and also determines the vehicle's load and centre of gravity. With the new safety technologies, which are all already available in production vehicles, commercial vehicle accident figures can be halved and the effects of accidents drastically reduced.
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19 September 2006
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The Mercedes-Benz Citaro LE Ü low-entry rural service bus receives the "Bus of the Year 2007” award at the International Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover. An international jury made up of bus industry journalists from 15 European countries awarded the coveted prize to the Citaro LE Ü after extensive inspection and test driving.
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19 September 2006
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At the International Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover, Mercedes-Benz hands over a Sprinter equipped with hybrid drive to a representative of FedEx Express, the world's biggest express air freight company. The panel van with plug-in technology will be tested on the streets of Paris by FedEx during the coming months under the customer's tough operating conditions. In the hybrid Sprinter an electric motor with an output of 70 kW / 95 hp is arranged between the 115 kW / 158 hp diesel engine and the automatic transmission. Its gets its energy from a lithium-ion battery which it recharges, functioning as generator, during braking or on downhill stretches. In addition, the battery of the parked vehicle can be recharged while stationary in plug-in mode from a power socket.
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21 - 28 September 2006
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Mercedes-Benz unveils the Unimog U 20 all-wheel-drive special-purpose vehicle at the International Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover. It extends the current Unimog range by a third series, with 7.5 to 8.5 tonnes permissible gross vehicle weight. It is based on the shortened chassis of the Unimog U 300 and also belongs to the 405 series. The all-new generation of the Mercedes-Benz Tourismo touring coach series and the Citaro K, a further variant of the successful Citaro regular service bus series, also celebrate their world premiere. The all-wheel-drive version of the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and the minibus variants Sprinter Travel, City and Mobility also debut – the Sprinter City 65 is on display. The Sprinter 316 NGT, a version featuring an environment-friendly natural gas drive, is presented as a near-series study. EvoBus supplements the model range of the MultiClass 400 combined-service bus series with the low-floor variants Setra S 415 NF and S 416 NF.
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21 - 28 September 2006
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DaimlerChrysler Trailer Axle Systems, which has been manufacturing trailer axles at the Kassel plant since 1996, presents a revolutionary innovation at the Hanover Commercial Vehicle Show: the Airmaster trailer axle, which stores the compressed air needed for the brakes and air suspension in the axle housing. By eliminating the air vessel it offers additional installation space and a weight advantage of 30-40 kg.
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21 September 2006
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DaimlerChrysler puts the new "Ecocombi" trucks into service between the Untertürkheim and Sindelfingen plants. The innovative "Ecocombi" truck/trailer combinations consist of an Actros 2660 LL platform truck with BlueTec 5 technology and a five-axle trailer. This gives them a length of 25.25 m and a permissible gross vehicle weight of 60 tonnes. Compared with conventional 40-tonne combinations, the axle load is reduced by about 2 tonnes per axle. The pilot test, conducted by agreement with the Ministry of the Interior for Baden-Württemberg, aims at comprehensive analysis of the concept's opportunities and risks for the environment and safety.
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30 September - 15 October 2006
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The AMG high-performance models CL 63 AMG and S 63 AMG, equipped with the 386 kW / 525 hp V8 M 156 engine, make their debut at the Paris Motor Show alongside the new CL-Class (C 216 series). Also celebrating its premiere is the new SLR McLaren 722 Edition, an uprated special edition of the super sports car introduced in 2004. Other highlights include the new 4MATIC models of the S-Class (221 series), whose newly developed all-wheel-drive system ensures superb traction and first-rate ride comfort at the expense of a minimal increase in consumption.
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4 - 6 October 2006
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Mercedes-Benz presents to the press an armoured special-protection version of the 221 series S-Class, the S 600 Guard. Owing to highest-quality protective elements integrated into the bodyshell, the Mercedes-Benz Guard models afford unparalleled safety against attack and the threat of violent crime.
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15 October 2006
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In the ninth and penultimate DTM race at Le Mans, Bernd Schneider takes fifth place to secure the champion's title after falling back to last place in a scramble at the start. For Schneider this is the fifth title after 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2003. In Le Mans, Bruno Spengler wins ahead Mika Hakkinen, both driving an AMG-Mercedes C-Class. Spengler is runner-up at season's end.
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15 October 2006
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The market launch of the Mercedes-Benz E 320 BLUETEC in the USA and Canada gets underway in time for the introduction of low-sulphur diesel fuel in the USA. It is the first and only diesel car in the world that can better the extremely stringent US BIN 8 emission standard. The E 320 BLUETEC is offered in 45 states of the USA and in Canada. It consumes up to 30 % less fuel than comparable petrol-engined vehicles in North America. Its enormous range of up to 1,200 km on one tank of fuel additionally predestines the E 320 BLUETEC for US driving conditions.
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21 October 2006
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36 Mercedes-Benz E-Class saloons with clean diesel drives start out on a 26-day long-distance run from Paris to Beijing covering some 13,600 km. The route takes them across nine countries and follows much of the route used in the 1907 Beijing to Paris race, the first transcontinental car race in history. In the course of five stages 330 drivers from 35 nations take the wheel of the E-Class saloons.
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27 October 2006
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DaimlerChrysler sells the former corporate headquarters in Stuttgart-Möhringen to IXIS Capital Partners Ltd. DaimlerChrysler will continue to use the 13 buildings on the site, where 2,700 people work, in the long term, and leases them back for a period of 15 years. The inflow of cash from the sale of the property comes to about € 240 million.
