May

Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft form a community of interests. Mercedes-Benz Automobil GmbH is established on 30 May and takes over responsibility for joint sales activities for the Mercedes and Benz brands.

Launch of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with a whole range of new features at the Van Technology Center in Stuttgart. The four-cylinder diesel engines of the OM 651 range meet Euro 5 as standard; in combination with the newly developed six-speed manual ECO Gear transmission, they manage to deliver higher output yet with significantly reduced consumption. Further new features include ESP trailer stabilisation and adaptive brake lights.

Test engineer Dr Hans Liebold drives a C 111-IV to a new speed record of 403.978 km/h on the Nardò circuit in Italy. He also sets new records for 10 km, 100 km, 10 miles and 100 miles. The record-breaking car is powered by a 368 kW / 500 hp, 4.8-litre V8 engine based on the 4.5-litre production engine. It is also fitted with twin exhaust gas turbochargers.

Hermann Lang and Rudolf Caracciola claim an impressive one-two victory in the Tripoli Grand Prix, the first and last race contested by the W 165 1.5-litre formula racing car. The motor sport department of Daimler-Benz had set up the new eight-cylinder racing car, which develops 254 hp / 187 kW from 1.5 litres displacement, specially for the race in Tripoli.

As part of a five-year testing programme, the first four of a total of 13 Mercedes-Benz OE 305 hybrid electric buses with combined diesel-battery drive system are put into regular service in Stuttgart. A further seven vehicles follow suit in September in the town of Wesel.

DaimlerChrysler and Hyundai Motor Company jointly announce the restructuring of their strategic alliance. Hyundai takes over the 50 % DaimlerChrysler share in the commercial vehicle engine company DaimlerChrysler Hyundai Truck Corporation, and talks on a commercial vehicle joint venture are terminated. All other projects are to be continued: these include the joint development and production of a four-cylinder petrol engine family (the so-called World Engine Project), joint procurement activities and the delivery of engines of the OM 906 medium-duty series to Hyundai. Against this backdrop, DaimlerChryslerAG announces it will sell its 10.5 % share in Hyundai Motor at some future time.

The "New Generation" of heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz trucks with permissible gross vehicle weight ratings of 16 to 26 tonnes makes its debut at the Wörth plant. The model range includes dropsiders, semitrailer tractors and chassis.

Deutsche Aerospace AG (Dasa) is established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Daimler-Benz Group as a result of the merger of Dornier GmbH, MTU Motoren- und Turbinen-Union München/Friedrichshafen and of two divisions of AEG AG. The new company's Chairman of the Board of Management is Jürgen E. Schrempp.

The 170 S and 170 D (W 136 series), the first Mercedes-Benz passenger car models to be developed since the end of the war, make their debuts at the Technical Export Fair in Hanover. Compared with the 170 V, the 170 S has a more spacious body and a standard-fit ventilation system that can be combined with a heater as an optional extra. It is also available as a Convertible B and highly luxurious Convertible A variant. The 170 D is based on the 170 V and is the first post-war diesel car. Further new products are the L 3250 truck and O 3250 bus, which herald a new era in commercial vehicle manufacture at Daimler-Benz.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class celebrates a special anniversary. The cross-country vehicle series has been in production for 25 years, making the G-Class one of the vehicles with the longest production runs in the history of the automobile. Since the start of production in 1979, about 175,000 units of the G-Class have rolled off the assembly line at Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria, on behalf of DaimlerChrysler AG and its predecessor companies.

The Steyr-Daimler-Puch plant in Graz, Austria, where the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is already being built, starts production of the M-Class. The successful off-roader from Mercedes-Benz will thus also be produced at a European site two years after production started in Tuscaloosa, Alabama/USA.

Daimler-Benz Board of Management member Heinz Schmidt presents the organising committee of the Football World Cup with a total of 72 Mercedes-Benz coaches at a press conference in Frankfurt am Main. For the duration of the World Cup, each of the 16 teams competing in the tournament will enjoy the services of a yellow O 302 luxury coach decorated in the teams’ respective national colours.

The documentation "Forced Labour at Daimler-Benz", prepared by the Gesellschaft für Unternehmensgeschichte (a scientific institution that promotes research into corporate history), is presented in Stuttgart.

The first units of the 28/95 hp Mercedes – the new flagship model for the entire product range – leave the factory. An initial pool of 25 vehicles are delivered prior to July 1915. Around 600 units of the revised model are built between 1920 and 1924.

The share capital of Daimler-Benz AG is increased to 39.15 million Reichsmarks by issuing new common shares. The new shares are offered to the holders of the old common shares at a subscription ratio of 1 for 2 and a price of 112 %.

Setra presents the S 250 Special touring coach to the press in Ulm as a particularly low-cost and economic variant.