June

Five Mercedes-Benz duo buses based on the O 305 begin a testing programme in regular service in the town of Esslingen. Two of these test vehicles are designed for combined battery/overhead-cable use, the three others – including an articulated pusher bus based on the O 305 G – for diesel/overhead-cable operation.

Mercedes-Benz Sverige AB is established in Stockholm following the acquisition of the previous general distributor Philipsons Bil AB.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, Mercedes-Benz presents the new MB 700 truck to the press, series production of which has begun at the Indonesian affiliate P.T. German Motor Manufacturing in Jakarta. The light truck with a permissible gross vehicle weight of 7.5 t features a well-developed capacity for handling rough roads and is destined for the Asian market.

On the occasion of World Environment Day 2009, the E-Class receives much sought-after environmental certification according to ISO standard 14062, which is based on a comprehensive life cycle assessment of the vehicle. Since July 2005, environmental certification has been awarded to the C-Class, as well as to the A and B-Class. The GLK was the first Mercedes-Benz SUV to receive the award in May 2009.

The "Daimler-Werkzeitung" employees' newspaper, edited by cultural philosopher Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, receives its first print run. This in-house publication is intended to inform the workforce in particular about new economic thinking during a period of political and social upheavals following the end of the First World War. The last issue is published on 26 August 1920, the day after the closure of Daimler's Untertürkheim plant.

Daimler-Benz gives a practical demonstration of the O-Bahn concept at the International Traffic and Transport Exhibition in Hamburg. This flexible system combines the benefits of rail and bus transport and involves automatically guided rail buses moving on their own guideway. Also presented is the S 80, a prototype of a regular service urban bus for the 1980s, designed to provide even more comfortable and convenient transportation for passengers. The knowledge gained through the S 80 project is channeled into development of the O 405, unveiled in the fall of 1983 as a second-generation standard regular service bus.

The last L 701 rolls off the assembly line at the Mannheim plant. A total of 10,300 units of this licensed version of the Opel "Blitz” have been produced since June 1945.

37 years after the first - and to date only - victory for Daimler-Benz at Le Mans, the new generation of Silver Arrows, the Sauber-Mercedes C 9, take the top two places in the legendary 24-hour race. At the wheel of the successful Silver Arrows: Jochen Mass / Stanley Dickens / Manuel Reuter and Mauro Baldi / Kenny Acheson / Gianfranco Brancatelli.

DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) and Spain's Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. (CASA) give notice of their intention to merge the two companies.

The first production unit of the OM 312 engine is completed at the Mannheim factory. The 90 hp / 66 kW six-cylinder diesel is the first commercial vehicle engine developed after the war and the first version of the successful OM 300 engine family.

The 90 hp Mercedes racing cars driven by Camille Jenatzy, Baron Pierre de Caters and Hermann Braun take second, third and fifth places respectively in the fifth Gordon Bennett Race, held in the Taunus mountains in Germany.

Among the highly coveted "International Engine of the Year Awards 2009" are awards for the best engine in three separate categories made to Mercedes-Benz and AMG. The AMG 6.2-litre V8 engine M 156 even takes two awards: in the categories of "Best Performance Engine" and "Above 4 litres" the powerful 386 kW / 525 hp high-performance naturally aspirated engine takes first place, in both cases by a considerable margin. In the category "2 - 2.5 litres" the top spot is taken by the OM 651 four-cylinder diesel engine.

Eugen Böhringer and Dieter Glemser win overall victory in the six-hour race on the Nürburgring, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SE at an average speed of 127.2 km/h.

DMG applies to protect designs for a three-pointed star and, four days later, for a four-pointed star. Both variants are registered as trademarks on 9 February 1911. Whereas the four-pointed star is not introduced until 1989 by Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA), the three-pointed star is used immediately and soon becomes one of the world's most recognised trademarks.

Mitsubishi Fuso launches the new generation of its Canter compact truck. The European version takes to the road with a new generation of engines and transmissions, as well as an optimised kerb weight/payload ratio. All these measures add up to improved environmental compatibility.

On the club ship AIDA-aura in Greece, Mercedes-Benz presents the new A-Class from the 169 series to the press for the first time. The second generation of the innovative compact vehicle is available as a four-door saloon and two-door coupé. DaimlerChrysler has invested € 900 million in expanding the Rastatt plant where the A-Class is built, creating 1,600 new jobs.

Daimler-Benz introduces the L 325 truck with new OM 325 engine as a further development of the L 5500 model. At the same time, the L 6600 is given the new designation L 315. All other Mercedes-Benz truck and bus models are also renamed over the second half of the year. A three-digit model series designation replaces the previous figure, which indicated the payload in kilograms.

The new Mercedes-Benz Travego touring coach, which succeeds the O 404 series, is presented to the press at the debis headquarters in Berlin.