Mercedes-Benz Group

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Mercedes-Benz Group AG

legal form public company
ISIN EN0007100000
founding November 17, 1998
Seat Stuttgart , GermanyGermany 
management
number of employees 288,481 (December 31, 2020)
sales volume 154.3 billion euros (2020)
industry automotive industry , financial services
site www.group.mercedes-benz.com
As of December 19, 2021

Mercedes-Benz Group AG is a publicly traded German manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles that also offers mobility and financial services. As the parent company based in Stuttgart , Mercedes-Benz Group AG assumes governance , strategy and control functions as well as group-wide services for the two legally independent subsidiaries Mercedes-Benz AG and Daimler Mobility AG , which are responsible for the operational business . The most famous brand of the group is Mercedes-Benz .

story

Today's Mercedes Group AG was founded in 1998 as DaimlerChrysler AG after the merger of Daimler-Benz  AG with the US Chrysler  Corporation . The renaming to Daimler AG took place in 2007 after the majority sale of Chrysler and as part of the spin-off of the commercial vehicle division on February 1, 2022, the renaming to Mercedes-Benz Group AG .

prehistory

The beginnings of Daimler AG go back to the founding year of Benz & Cie. in 1883 . Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik in Mannheim, which merged with Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft to form Daimler-Benz AG in 1926 . In 1883, Gottlieb Daimler secured patent rights for a gas engine with glow tube ignition and for regulating the speed of the engine by controlling the exhaust valve . The two patents were the basis for the world's first high-speed internal combustion engine . On January 29, 1886, Carl Friedrich Benz patented the automobile , a three-wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion engine and electric ignition.

In the 1920s almost all automobile manufacturers were struggling to survive. Deutsche Bank suggested a merger between Benz and Daimler. The companies Benz & Co Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik Mannheim (from 1899: Benz & Cie. ) and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft , which emerged from the work of both automobile pioneers , merged on June 28, 1926 to form Daimler-Benz AG .

After the NSDAP seized power , the economy in the National Socialist German Reich was increasingly involved in the rearmament of the Wehrmacht . Daimler-Benz developed and produced military vehicles, tanks, marine and aircraft engines . In 1932, the company was the third largest car manufacturer in Germany after Adam Opel AG and Auto Union . At the end of 1932 it employed only 9,148 people, in 1928 there were still 14,281. By 1944 the workforce had grown to 74,198 people, around 6.6% of whom were prisoners of war and 37% recruited or forcibly deported foreigners. In 1941, Wehrmacht orders accounted for 76% of the total turnover of the AG. In the same year, 150 concentration camp prisoners worked for Daimler-Benz, in 1944 there were 5,648 concentration camp prisoners. The lack of information and late, relatively low payment of compensation in 1968 caused criticism. More women were also employed in the factories, since the men were at the front. At the end of the war, the branches in eastern Germany and the plants in Königsberg and Genshagen were lost. The group also had to write off the plants in Colmar, Neupaka, Reichshof and the Ostmark aircraft engine plant that had been founded in the occupied countries during the war. In the west, some of the production facilities were severely damaged. The plant in Untertürkheim was badly damaged by Allied bombers on September 5, 1944. Apart from the press shop, there was no longer a covered building in Sindelfingen and a third of the Mannheim plant was destroyed.

Connections to former Nazi functionaries are said to have existed in the post-war period. Allegedly, Daimler-Benz AG arranged for former Nazi greats who had emigrated to South America to be hired at the Mercedes truck plant that opened in González Catán (Argentina) in 1951.

In the years that followed, the company proved to be a leader in innovation on the automotive market – the safety passenger cell was introduced in 1951, and the airbag and belt tensioner in 1981 as new developments.

DaimlerChrysler AG (1998-2007)

Logo of DaimlerChrysler AG

Initial talks between the then Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler-Benz AG , Jürgen Schrempp , and the then CEO of the Chrysler Corporation , Robert Eaton , about a merger of the two companies took place on January 12, 1998 in Detroit . The merger was announced by the two company leaders in London on May 7th. It was emphasized that this was not a takeover of one company by the other, but a merger of equals . Jürgen Schrempp called the merger into DaimlerChrysler AG a "marriage in heaven".

After the EU Commission had initially approved the merger, it was also approved by the US competition authorities on July 31, 1998. Finally, on September 18, at the general meetings of both companies, the shareholders approved the merger. The merger was accomplished through a stock exchange for shares in the new company, DaimlerChrysler AG . Daimler-Benz shareholders received 1.005 DaimlerChrysler shares per share, one Chrysler share was exchanged for 0.6235 DaimlerChrysler shares. On November 17, 1998, DaimlerChrysler AG began operations and the shares were traded on the stock exchange for the first time.

Daimler-Benz and Chrysler were to be represented equally in the leadership of the new company. Initially, the Management Board was equally staffed and both Jürgen Schrempp and Robert Eaton acted as CEOs. The meetings of the Management Board were held alternately in Stuttgart and at Chrysler in Auburn Hills (Michigan) . However, the legal seat was Stuttgart from the start, and DaimlerChrysler AG was founded as a stock corporation under German law.

After two years, the co-chairman Robert Eaton announced his resignation, so that Jürgen Schrempp became the sole chairman of the board. On January 1, 2006, Jürgen Schrempp handed over his office to Dieter Zetsche . Gradually, the balance of votes on the board shifted more and more in favor of the German members.

Shortly after taking office on January 1, 2006, the new DaimlerChrysler boss Dieter Zetsche announced further job cuts . In the group administration, 6,000 jobs were cut over the next three years.

On September 1, 2005, Zetsche initially became a board member for the Mercedes-Benz brand. In 2004, Wolfgang Bernhard was originally intended to succeed Jürgen Hubbert for the top post at Mercedes-Benz, but shortly before taking office he was relieved of his position on the board and made head of the Volkswagen brand instead . On October 1, 2004, Eckhard Cordes was appointed brand manager at Mercedes-Benz. The restructuring of the now ailing Mercedes-Benz brand began under his leadership. After it became known that Zetsche would succeed Schrempp as CEO of DaimlerChrysler AG , Cordes also left the company after a short period of office on August 31, 2005 and became CEO of Franz Haniel & Cie. at the beginning of 2006 .

Around 14,000 employees were to leave the company in the years 2005 to 2008 as part of the restructuring of Mercedes-Benz. This should be achieved through severance offers, early retirement schemes, transfers and through turnover. The employment pact, which was valid until 2012, should be observed.

In October 2005, the joint venture Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA) was founded together with the car manufacturers Hyundai and Mitsubishi Motors  , which produces engines for the companies involved.

On November 11, 2005, the remaining 12.4% interest in Mitsubishi Motors Corp. was sold. sold. In September 2006, a Chinese automobile manufacturer was found as a cooperation partner in Chery Automobile . Chrysler is to sell the low-cost small cars produced by Chery in China under the Dodge brand in the United States.

In 2006 the new Mercedes-Benz Museum was opened next to the main plant in Stuttgart - Untertürkheim . 160 vehicles can be seen on 16,500 m² of exhibition space. In the same year, CEO Zetsche first announced the relocation of the board of directors and parts of the administration to the engine plant in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, from where the predecessor company Daimler-Benz had been managed until 1990. In October 2006, the company also announced that it intended to sell the previous corporate headquarters in Stuttgart-Möhringen .

Rumors first surfaced in March 2007 that DaimlerChrysler was considering selling the Chrysler Group. Since the merger, the value of Chrysler alone had fallen by 35 billion euros, and that of DaimlerChrysler by 50 billion euros before Schrempp's withdrawal at the end of 2005. The criticism of the merger had therefore grown over the years. A spokesman for the protective association of capital investors stated to the management at the 2007 Annual General Meeting : "You all failed in an irresponsible manner" and received applause from the almost 7,000 participants. Initially, the investment companies Blackstone and Cerberus Capital Management as well as the Austro-Canadian automotive supplier Magna International were considered to be interested in Chrysler . The US multi-billionaire Kirk Kerkorian , who bid 22.3 billion US dollars for Chrysler in 1995, has now shown renewed interest. Apparently, the company was only worth $4.5 billion to him.

Finally, on May 14, 2007, the majority sale of the Chrysler Group to Cerberus was announced. A subsidiary of Cerberus then took over 80.1% of the shares in the newly created Chrysler Holding LLC , while Daimler retained 19.9% ​​of the shares.

In June 2007, DaimlerChrysler announced that it would be collaborating with Fiat in the future . The cooperation related primarily to commercial vehicle engines. As both companies announced, Daimler's Japanese commercial vehicle subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso should first be supplied with diesel engines for light trucks. From 2009, Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT) will supply around 80,000 engines per year for the Canter model , which is to be sold in Europe and Japan. In the next few years, the scope of delivery should continue to increase.

The era of DaimlerChrysler AG caused considerable damage to the image of the core brand Mercedes-Benz, which is due to quality problems and an enormous reduction in costs. The undisputed leading role in automobile construction of the former Daimler-Benz AG up until the merger has so far only been partially restored.

Daimler AG (2007-2019)

The Chrysler split was completed in early August 2007. At an extraordinary general meeting on October 4, 2007, it was finally decided to rename the company to Daimler AG . The group then operates in the Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Trucks, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services divisions.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche also announced on October 4, 2007 that the group had acquired the naming rights to the "Daimler" name from Ford Motor Company for 20 million US dollars (around 14 million euros). The agreement states that Daimler AG may only use the name as a trade or company name, no naming rights have been permanently transferred, which is why the Daimler Motor Company continues to exist, which has never had anything to do with the German car manufacturer, despite the company names. In the course of renaming the group, the production sites and sales companies were also renamed, with their names derived from the brand names of the respective products, for example Mercedes-Benz.

On March 24, 2010, the United States filed a lawsuit against Daimler AG following an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission . The procedure was possible in the USA, since Daimler shares are traded on the stock exchanges there. The allegation is of large-scale corruption and is the conclusion of a year-long investigation. According to the US Department of Justice, between 1998 and 2008 the company paid bribes in the “tens of millions” in Russia , Turkey , Egypt and China in order to get government contracts that were supposed to save the then ailing DaimlerChrysler. At a court hearing on April 1, 2010, the group reached a settlement with the US authorities. The settlement includes an admission of guilt, a $185 million fine to the US authorities and anti-corruption conditions. In Germany, too, there had been preliminary investigations by the public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart, but almost all of them have now been discontinued. Daimler itself took disciplinary action against 60 employees, 45 of whom were fired in the process. However, at the end of 2011 the SEC criticized the measures taken to combat corruption as not being sufficient.

In February 2011, Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt was the first woman in the history of Daimler AG and its predecessors to be appointed to the Board of Management. Hohmann-Dennhardt was a member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG until the end of 2015 . Since the beginning of 2016, her successor, Renata Jungo Brüngger, has headed the Integrity and Legal Affairs board department.

Daimler AG played a central role in the process of using carbon dioxide in air conditioning systems. This was preceded by a conflict between Daimler AG and the European Union, whose law stipulates that from the beginning of 2013 the air conditioning systems of newly homologated vehicles should be filled with the more environmentally friendly refrigerant R1234yf instead of the previously used agent R134a . All vehicle manufacturers worldwide have agreed on this decision in advance. Internal tests by Daimler AG have shown that the agent ignites in the hot engine compartment. In response, just a few days later, the company launched a recall campaign to replace the refrigerant with R134a in all vehicles filled with R1234yf. This made it the first company in the world to boycott the new refrigerant and promote the use of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. In response, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG followed suit .

After Eckart von Klaedens moved from the Federal Chancellery to Daimler AG as the new head of the Politics and External Relations department, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office initiated investigations against von Klaeden in 2013 on the initial suspicion of accepting an advantage and against Dieter Zetsche on suspicion of granting an advantage , and discontinued them in full in 2015.

In 2017, the Executive Board formed a CASE Steering Committee to determine the management model and strategic guidelines for the future topics of connectivity ( Connected), autonomous driving ( A utonomous ), flexible use ( Shared & Services) and electric drives ( E lectric ) . .

Group breakdown (from 2019)

At the Annual General Meeting on May 22, 2019, Dieter Zetsche, who had been CEO of the company for more than 13 years, was replaced by Ola Källenius of Sweden . Källenius had been with the Group since 1993 and, in his previous position on the Board of Management, was responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.

On November 1, 2019, Daimler split its activities into three independent companies, which are still operating under the umbrella of Daimler AG . The largest of the three subsidiaries is Mercedes-Benz AG , which is responsible for the entire passenger car and van segment (Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans). She shares the position of Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG with Ola Källenius . The new company Daimler Truck AG was founded for the truck and bus divisions. Martin Daum , who was already responsible for this area as a board member before the demerger , will take over management . The subsidiary Daimler Financial Services , which has been independent for years , was renamed Daimler Mobility AG in July 2019 . As the third division of Daimler AG , it is responsible for vehicle financing, fleet management and mobility services. The group stated that the reason for the split was to strengthen its customer focus and, above all, to increase the agility of the group. Daimler AG remained the only listed company and, with around 6,000 employees, took on governance , strategy and control functions. She continues to be responsible for Group-wide services.

At the beginning of 2021 it became known that there were concrete intentions to split up the large group. The subsidiary Daimler Truck AG with the Trucks and Buses divisions is to be listed on the stock exchange from the end of 2021. This creates full entrepreneurial independence for this area. On February 1, 2022, Daimler AG was renamed Mercedes-Benz Group AG . The split was approved by a majority of shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on October 1, 2021.

public company

Ola Källenius has been Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG since May 22, 2019 , and Bernd Pischetsrieder has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board since March 31, 2021 . The company's share capital is divided into around 1.07 billion registered shares . The company's shares ( WKN 710000, ISIN DE0007100000) are listed by Deutsche Börse under the abbreviation DAI and are part of the DAX . The shares of the four strategic investors Li Shufu, Kuwait IA, BAIC and Renault-Nissan are considered fixed holdings, the remaining approximately 75.41% of the shares are considered free float . Renault sold its shares in March 2021, Nissan in May 2021.

Shareholders with reportable shares see table:

shareholder structure

portion shareholders
9.98% Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC)
9.69% Tenaclou3 Prospect Investment Limited ( Li Shufu , owner of Chinese car group Geely )
6.80% Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA)
5.38% BlackRock
2.42% Bank of America Corporation

As of December 13, 2021

On July 23, 2019, the Chinese automotive group BAIC announced that it had acquired a consolidated 5% stake in the share capital of Daimler AG through a direct investment and additional purchase rights. At that time, Daimler held 9.55% of the shares in the BAIC subsidiary BAIC Motor .

dividend policy

Daimler is striving for a sustainable dividend development with a payout ratio of around 40% of the consolidated profit attributable to Daimler shareholders as a basic guide value. For 2020 (2019), the payout of €1.35 (€0.90) corresponded to a ratio of 40% (40%).

Source: Daimler AG

Managing directors

Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Board of Directors
  • Ola Källenius (Chairman and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, since 2019)
  • Renata Jungo Brüngger (Integrity and Law; since 2016)
  • Jörg Burzer (Production & Supply Chain Management; since 2021)
  • Sabine Kohleisen (Human Resources and Labor Director; since 2021)
  • Markus Schäfer (Chief Technology Officer, Development & Purchasing; since 2019)
  • Britta Seeger (Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales, since 2017)
  • Hubertus Troska (Greater China; since 2012)
  • Harald Wilhelm (Finance & Controlling/Daimler Mobility AG; since 2019)
Former CEO

business activity

business areas

The global group has been divided into two independent companies under the umbrella of Daimler AG since December 2021. The core business is the development and manufacture of motor vehicles and the sale to end users via authorized dealers and branches worldwide. In addition, financing options and mobility services are offered.

group Field of activity
Mercedes Benz AG cars and vans
Daimler Mobility AG financial and mobility services

Mercedes Benz AG

Mercedes-Benz AG is responsible for the development, production and sale of all of the Group's passenger cars and vans. The core brand Mercedes-Benz offers a product portfolio of passenger cars that extends from the so-called compact segment (A and B class) to the large-size segment (S class). The Group's brands include:

Daimler Mobility AG

Daimler Mobility AG offers leasing and financing offers, financial services for dealerships, management services for commercial vehicle fleets and services for arranging vehicle-related insurance, banking services and mobility concepts such as car2go . Mercedes-Benz Bank AG , which belongs to Daimler Mobility AG , is a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler AG.

Investments and cooperations

More than 500 subsidiaries and joint ventures are listed in the notes to the Daimler consolidated financial statements . Well-known representatives include:

Since April 2010, Daimler has been part of the Daimler-Renault-Nissan Alliance .

In February 2019, Daimler and BMW announced a merger of the two car sharing subsidiaries car2go and DriveNow .

Historical acquisitions and holdings

Over the decades, the company (partly accompanied by name changes - from Daimler-Benz to DaimlerChrysler to Daimler) participated in numerous companies, took them over completely or at least had a major influence. The bigger ones were and are:

Timeline of Daimler automobile brands from 1886 to the present
group Daimler Benz DaimlerChrysler Daimler
brand group 1880 1890 1900 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 2000s 2010s
Mercedes Benz Daimler-
Benz 		Mercedes Mercedes Benz
Benz
Mercedes Maybach Maybach Maybach Mercedes Maybach
AMG AMG Mercedes AMG
Unimog Unimog Mercedes Benz
AutoUnion DKW Audi
Hanomag Henschel Hanomag HH Mercedes Benz
Henschel
freightliner Consolidated Freightways White Freightliner freightliner
Setra Kässbohrer Kassbohrer Setra Setra
sterling sterling Sterling White sterling
Thomas Perley Thomas
smart
Western Star White Western Star Western Star
Orion
fuso
BharatBenz BharatBenz
Chrysler Chrysler maxwell Chrysler
dodges
Plymouth
AMC / Eagle Jeffery/Hudson AMC eagle
Willys / Jeep Willys jeep
GEM
  •  Automobile brand of an independent company before takeover by Daimler, Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, possibly previously active in other areas
  •  Automobile brand of a company that is majority owned by Daimler or by Chrysler before DaimlerChrysler was founded
  •  Automobile brand from Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler or Daimler
  •  Car brand sold
    		•

    Economic metrics

    In 2015, Daimler AG was the listed company with the highest profit (EBIT) in Europe.

    fiscal year sales volume profit Employees
    on 31.12.
    DaimlerChrysler AG
    1997 €117.572 billion €4.057 billion 425,649
    1998   €131.782 billion   0 €4.820 billion   441.502
    1999   €149.985 billion   0 €5.746 billion   466,938
    2000   €162.384 billion   0 €7.894 billion   416.501
    2001   €150.386 billion   0 €0.662 billion   372,470
    2002   €147.368 billion   0 €4.718 billion   365.571
    2003   €136.437 billion   0 €0.448 billion   362.063
    2004   €142.059 billion   0 €2.466 billion   384.723
    2005   €149.776 billion   0 €2.846 billion   382,724
    Daimler AG
    2006 0€99.222 billion €3.783 billion 274,024
    2007   0 €99.399 billion   0 €3.985 billion   272.382
    2008   0 €95.873 billion   0 €1.414 billion   273.216
    2009   0 €78.924 billion   −€2.644 billion   256.407
    2010   0 €97.761 billion   0 €4.674 billion   260.100
    2011   €106.540 billion   0 €6.029 billion   271.370
    2012   €114.297 billion   0 €6.830 billion   275.087
    2013   €117.982 billion   0 €8.720 billion   274,616
    2014   €129.872 billion   0 €7.290 billion   279,972
    2015   €149.467 billion   0 €8.711 billion   284.015
    2016   €153.261 billion   0 €8.784 billion   282,488
    2017   €164.330 billion   €10.864 billion   289.321
    2018   €167.362 billion   0 €7.582 billion   298,683
    2019   €172.745 billion   0 €2.709 billion   298,655
    2020   €154.309 billion   0 €4.009 billion   288,481

    production facilities

    Production sites of Daimler AG outside of Germany

    Daimler has production facilities in the following countries: Germany , USA , Mexico , France , Spain , Hungary , Turkey , Romania , PRC , India , Indonesia , Argentina , Brazil , South Africa , Japan , and Vietnam . In addition, Daimler is involved in other markets through holdings in other production facilities.

    Daimler planned to build the first production facility in Russia in 2006 . C and E class models as well as Chrysler models were to be produced in Saint Petersburg . The decision was postponed for the time being due to tax disadvantages caused by the different customs duties for partial and complete assembly. However, talks with the Russian government are continuing.

    In 2017 it was announced that a plant for SUVs and E-classes should be built near Moscow by 2019. The company is investing over 250 million euros in the new production site. The new passenger car plant in the Moscow region will cover all production steps, from body construction to painting and assembly. The first vehicles are scheduled to roll off the assembly line in 2019.

    On June 5, 2018, Daimler announced the construction of a second car plant in Kecskemét , Hungary. It is a so-called "full-flex" factory, in which different models with different drive concepts can be manufactured on one line. Completion was scheduled for 2020.

    Works led by Mercedes-Benz Cars

    Plant Rastatt

    Source for the whole section:

    Works managed by Mercedes-Benz Vans

    Source for the whole section:

    criticism

    Blood tests for new hires

    In the media, blood tests were seen as controversial when new production workers were hired. In 2011, Daimler AG received the negative Big Brother Award in the working world category. According to FoeBuD , the association responsible for awarding the prize, this violates personal rights and is usually not required under labor law. The blood tests that were originally required for employees in the indirect area, including engineers and administrative staff, have now been discontinued.

    Use of temporary work and work contracts

    Daimler is criticized for the use of temporary work and work contracts , which the group uses to undermine collective bargaining standards. For example, some employees who are hired through work contracts earn up to two-thirds less than the permanent workforce and would also have to apply for unemployment benefit 2 .

    In a report from 2013, SWR showed how contract workers at Daimler were integrated into normal operating processes and received instructions that violated the legal provisions for work contracts. Secretly shot recordings from the Daimler plant in Untertürkheim were shown. Daimler then tried to have the court prohibit the re-broadcast of these recordings, but ultimately failed in 2016.

    dealing with executives

    The media reported that despite numerous court decisions, Daimler treats certain executives who are in fact non-managerial employees as managerial employees and thus does not accept certain agreements made between the company and the works council on location and job security guarantees, maximum working hours and salary components. Level 3 employees and some level 2 employees are affected.

    There is also criticism that the company forced executives to retire at the age of 60 until 2017 and that this age limit was not lifted by the company after this rule was found illegal by the Federal Labor Court on grounds of age discrimination in January 2017, but was raised to 63 years. This new rule is illegal for the same reason that 63-year-olds have not acquired the right to a full old-age pension either. The company resolutely rejects the accusation that the way it treats managers is unlawful, as it is unfounded.

    lobbying

    As part of a report on lobbyists' influence on politics and legislation, it became known at the beginning of 2008 that a high-ranking DaimlerChrysler employee was working directly in the Federal Ministry of Transport during the tendering phase for the unsuccessful German truck toll system worth billions. At the beginning of 2014, the WDR magazine Monitor revealed that Daimler's Wikipedia article had been manipulated through targeted PR work in favor of the company, so the section on lobbying was completely removed.

    Serious accidents during test and trial drives

    Several serious accidents occurred during test and trial drives , for which the media also blamed the company as well as the human error of the factory drivers.

    • A Daimler test engineer was convicted of negligent homicide and intentional endangering of road traffic for the traffic accident on federal autobahn 5 in July 2003 , which attracted a great deal of media attention and in which a woman and a small child died. During the court proceedings, it became known that high-speed driving and aggressive behavior on public roads by factory drivers were known within the group, without the corresponding consequences being drawn. Furthermore, the employees of the group called as witnesses were conspicuously uncooperative.
    • In early 2005, a Daimler works driver was convicted for an accident in Sweden in which a pedestrian was hit and killed by a Mercedes-Benz.
    • In April 2010, at the scene of an accident, a person was hit and killed by an Erlkönig who was traveling at excessive speed on the A 81. The works driver was convicted because of his inappropriately high speed in the accident.
    • At the end of September 2010, a 27-year-old development engineer died on the track for high-speed tests in Papenburg, Emsland, an inexperienced Daimler intern collided with a vehicle driving in front at high speed, for which a lack of safety standards in the instruction of the driver and the operation of the test track are blamed . In October 2011 and July 2012, two other development engineers died during test drives at the same site. The test track was then temporarily closed.
    • In June 2012, a 36-year-old development engineer with a camouflaged company vehicle caused an accident during a test drive on a public road due to excessive speed, in which a mother and her six-year-old child were seriously injured. The factory driver was convicted of intentionally endangering road traffic in combination with negligent bodily harm. Also in June, a works driver caused a rear-end collision with a camouflaged truck. Because this prototype was virtually a one-off and had expensive measuring devices with it, the damage to property amounted to more than one million euros.

    Manipulation of exhaust gas values

    On May 23, 2017, police officers and prosecutors searched several Daimler AG buildings . It was about the suspicion of fraud and criminal advertising (§ 16 UWG ) in connection with the diesel emissions scandal . In September 2019, the public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart concluded fine proceedings (reason: breach of supervisory duty (OWiG) ) against Daimler with the imposition of a fine of 870 million euros. In 2015, the lawyer Christian Schertz , on behalf of Daimler, threatened to claim damages before a press conference organized by the German Environmental Aid if the public relations work of the environmental association even "created the impression" that Daimler was manipulating exhaust gas values. Schertz also banned the publication of the threatening letter. However, the ban was rejected by the Hamburg Regional Court in 2016 as not legally binding. At the time, Daimler had denied any manipulation of the exhaust gas cleaning system. The company later explained that exhaust gas cleaning would be regulated flexibly within the permissible framework. However, in the same year, a report by the scientific service of the German Bundestag showed that the manipulation of the exhaust gas cleaning system was not within the permissible limits. Daimler had colluded with BMW and VW to manipulate the emission control system, but was the first company to report it to the competition authorities, received a leniency program and, unlike the other car manufacturers, escaped a fine.

    In 2018, the worldwide recall of around 780,000 Mercedes vehicles that had been programmed to manipulate the exhaust system was ordered.

    In 2020, the Federal Motor Transport Authority recalled over 20 Mercedes models in connection with the diesel emissions scandal.

    In the USA, Daimler AG reached an agreement in August 2020 on settlements with US class plaintiffs and the authorities. The following September, Daimler and the U.S. Department of Justice totaled $1.9 billion for all related settlement payments. Daimler was also obliged to retrofit affected vehicles in the USA with software updates. Daimler emphasized that this is not an admission of guilt, since the comparisons did not determine whether the functions used in the vehicles are illegal. By November 2021, settlement payments made by Daimler in the United States had increased to $2.2 billion.

    By November 2021, the Federal Motor Transport Authority had recalled 34 Mercedes models due to illegal exhaust gas shut-off devices. At least 498,000 vehicles worldwide were affected by the recall of two models alone.

    dividend payments

    The 50% increase in the dividend for the 2020 financial year compared to the previous year , which the group paid out to shareholders (a total of 1.4 billion euros), caused criticism from, among others, the umbrella organization of critical shareholders and the citizens' movement Finanzwende , in view of the the fact that the group had previously saved 700 million euros through short -time work benefits. The short-time allowance applied for due to the COVID-19 pandemic was paid in part from taxpayers' money; the group replied that it was an insurance benefit that was not financed by taxpayers' money.

    Advertisement in anti-Semitic newspaper

    In December 2017, the FAZ reported that Daimler was advertising its Mercedes-Benz brand in the Turkish newspaper Anadolu'da Vakit . The newspaper, which spreads anti-Semitic , sexist and anti- gay hate messages, has been banned in Germany since 2005 because of hate speech and Holocaust denial .

    See also

    literature

    web links

    Commons : Daimler-Benz AG  – Collection of images, videos and audio files
    Commons : DaimlerChrysler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
    Commons : Daimler AG  – Collection of images, videos and audio files
     Wikinews: Daimler AG  – in the news
     Wikinews: DaimlerChrysler  - in the news

    itemizations

    1. ↑ a b c Annual Report 2020 on daimler.com, retrieved on February 19, 2021.
    2. ↑ The Mercedes farmer is now actually called Mercedes. Der Spiegel , January 31, 2022, retrieved January 31, 2022 .
    3. ↑ Barbara Hopmann, Mark Spoerer , Birgit Weitz, Beate Brüninghaus: Forced labor at Daimler-Benz . Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-515-06440-0 , p. 98 f.
    4. ↑ Heinrich Frei: Daimler as an armaments producer . In: Berliner Zeitung , April 16, 2005.
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