July

Mercedes-Benz Finanz GmbH, formed the previous year and wholly owned by Daimler-Benz, commences operations. Mercedes Leasing GmbH is renamed Mercedes-Benz Leasing GmbH and functions as subsidiary to the newly established company. Under the name Mercedes-Benz Lease Finanz, the companies, run by the same management, offer leasing and financing solutions for all Mercedes-Benz products.

The Board of Management of Daimler-Benz AG and the Works Councils of the Untertürkheim, Mannheim, Gaggenau and Sindelfingen plants agree "Provisional Company Regulations of Daimler-Benz AG", which stipulate among other things a 48-hour working week.

The first A-Class F-CELL "plus" fuel cell-powered vehicle, equipped with 700-bar technology, passes its first test under everyday operating conditions on the drive from Berlin to the Magdeburg Environmental Forum. The much more highly compressed hydrogen permits a larger fill factor in the tank to offer a 70 % greater range of around 270 km.

The Eugen Böhringer / Klaus Kaiser driver team takes victory in the German Rally in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SE, with Dieter Glemser and Martin Braungart finishing second in their Mercedes-Benz 220 SE. Glemser / Braungart go on to win the Poland Rally from 31 July - 4 August in a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE.

Christian Lautenschlager wins the French Grand Prix in Dieppe in a 140 hp Mercedes. He completes the 769.88 km at an average speed of 111.1 km/h. Second and third places are taken by Victor Hémery and René Hanriot in Benz racing cars, and the track record of 126.5 km/h is set by Otto Salzer, also in a 140 hp Mercedes.

The two-millionth Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle diesel engine built since the start of post-war production leaves the assembly line at the Mannheim plant. The landmark unit is a 390 kW / 530 hp OM 424 A V12 engine, which will find use as a propulsion engine for a heavy truck crane.

MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH and RWE Fuel Cells GmbH, Essen, sign a joint venture agreement to advance their fuel cell activities jointly in future. The company is named MTU CFC Solutions GmbH. Its purpose is to effect the broad-based market introduction of carbonate fuel cell systems and to give the company a leading market position in the area of high-temperature fuel cells. RWE Fuel Cells takes a 25.1 % stake in MTU CFC Solutions GmbH, a legally independent company, previously a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTU Friedrichshafen.

In the ADAC Reichsfahrt race, Mercedes junior driver Rudolf Caracciola finishes top of three individual rankings and also heads the overall classification in the category for touring cars with a taxable horsepower rating up to 6 hp. It is his second competition at the wheel of a Mercedes.

Mercedes-Benz is the first car brand in the world to offer for its bestselling diesel passenger cars the combination of EU 4 emission standard compliance and diesel particulate filter, initially for the C-Class and E-Class with four-cylinder CDI engines. In February 2004 the CDI six-cylinder of the E-Class and S-Class follows suit with EU 4 and diesel particulate filter. The diesel particulate filter developed by Mercedes-Benz requires no additives and remains effective over a very long operational life.

The first truck from the "Sterling" brand leaves the production plant in St. Thomas, Canada, joining Freightliner to complement the Daimler-Benz American heavy-duty truck range.

Based on the provisions of the Works Constitution Act of 15 October 1952, the Supervisory Board, which includes employee representatives for the first time, is newly convened.

Daimler-Benz, Nissan Motor and Nissan Diesel sign a basic agreement to co-develop a light commercial vehicle in the 3 to 9-tonne class.

Gottlieb Daimler registers his "self-propelling fire pump" at the Imperial Patent Office (patent no. DRP 46 779 of 15 April, 1889). This vehicle causes a considerable stir on its presentation at a fire brigades open day in Hanover.

Together with Australian Motors Industries Ltd., Daimler-Benz sets up Mercedes-Benz Australia Pty. Ltd. in Port Melbourne. The company, in which Daimler-Benz intially holds a one-third share, takes over assembly of Mercedes-Benz cars and commercial vehicles from CKD (completly knocked down) vehicle kits.

A twin-engine AEG G V large airplane reaches the record altitude of 6,100 m in a test flight and demonstrates the performance potential of supercharger technology. The two supercharged Mercedes D IVa aeroengines are fitted with an AEG centrifugal blower, which makes up for the loss of power at high altitudes.

At the Esslingen repair facility, the 10,000th repaired Jeep is handed over to the US Army.

The newly founded subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Motorenbau GmbH takes over the production facilities and workforce of Porsche-Diesel-Motorenbau GmbH in Friedrichshafen-Manzell. August sees production start-up of the first MB 833, 837 and 838 heavy-duty engine series relocated from Untertürkheim.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is now available with windowbag, a world first which considerably reduces the risk of head injuries in the event of a side impact.