The story of the Mercedes automobile brand, named after an 11 year old girl and considered among the best in terms of both design and performance.
The story of the Mercedes brand began in 1897 in Nice, France. Emil Jellinek, Consul General of Austria in Nice at that time, bought one of the vehicles one day when he visited the Daimler factory. Driving on the French Riviera, one of the most important regions of the world, made him attract a lot of attention.
Emil Jellinek came back to the factory after using the Daimler model he bought for two years. And with 23 horsepower, he bought a powerful vehicle that was considered a racing car at the time. He named this Daimler car he bought after his eldest daughter Mercedes and participated in one of the auto races held in Nice, France, and finished the race first.
After the great interest, Emil Jellinek decided to trade cars and placed an order for 36 units from Daimler. Jellinek's only condition for the order was to name the cars after his daughter Mercedes. Upon the sales success of Emil Jellinek, Daimler decided to call the vehicles produced since 1901 as "Mercedes".
Thus, Mercedes, a Spanish name meaning "grace and blessing", became the name of the new brand of the Daimler company in the early 1900s. And this has managed to become a turning point that will go down in history. It was registered as a Mercedes brand name in 1902 and was protected by law from the same year.
In 1883, the Benz and Cie company was founded. This company was in intense competition with Daimler. After a year of competition, it was decided to merge. It merged in 1926 under the name Mercedes-Benz. After the merger, the company, which acted with the principle of producing more powerful, better quality and elite vehicles suitable for every need, was running from success to success. It made its mark with the awards it received, the innovations it made and the firsts it signed.
Mercedes-Benz grew into one of the world's largest luxury car companies in the 1950s and 1960s. Setting out with the motto of "either the best or nothing", Mercedes-Benz left all its competitors behind in terms of both design and performance. The company's steady and strong growth allowed it to expand into international markets.
Mercedes, as it is known to us, has become a well-known and recognized brand all over the world today. It has managed to become the owner of a unique place with hundreds of vehicles and sub-models produced in 5 different areas. Mercedes, which is growing and developing day by day with cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks, city public transportation buses and passenger buses between cities / countries, aims to spread to a wider area by keeping up with the technology in recent years.
Mercedes's emblem
The founder of the company, Karl Benz, put a star emblem on the top of his house with a view of Cologne and Deutz during the first years of his tenure at the engine factory in Deutz. In the letters he wrote to his wife, he said that this star would one day represent success and power. Additionally, he said that his factory will shine on him. The star symbolized the universality of Daimler's motor vehicles "on land, on water, in the air". It was also registered in 1909.
In 1916, the star was surrounded by a circle with four small stars and the name Mercedes. In 1926, with the Daimler-Benz merger, Benz's wreath of laurel leaves surrounded the star. In 2008, the leaf garlands were removed and minor changes were made. However, the basic logo remained the same. Until today, it has managed to gain a place in minds not only with its designs and comfort, but also with its logo.