Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Jellinek became one of DMG's directors in 1900, ordered a small number of motor racing cars built to his specifications by Maybach, stipulated that the engine must be named Daimler-Mercedes, and made the new automobile famous through motorsports.

Although Daimler-Benz is best known for its Mercedes-Benz automobile brand, during World War II, it also created a notable series of engines for German aircraft, tanks, and submarines.

In 1989, Daimler-Benz InterServices AG (Debis) was created to handle data processing, financial and insurance services, and real estate management for the Daimler group.

In a so-called "merger of equals," or "marriage made in heaven," according to its then CEO and architect Jürgen E. Schrempp,[10] Daimler-Benz, and United States–based automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation, the smallest of the main three American automakers, merged in 1998 in an exchange of shares[11] and formed DaimlerChrysler AG.

[13][9] The merger was contentious with investors launching lawsuits over whether the transaction was the 'merger of equals' that senior management claimed or actually amounted to a Daimler-Benz takeover of Chrysler.

Martin H. Wiggers' concept of a platform strategy, like the VW Group's, was implemented only for a few models, so the synergy effects in development and production were low.

General Motors was reported to be a suitor,[20] but Daimler agreed to sell the Chrysler unit to Cerberus Capital Management in May 2007 for US$6 billion and completed the sale on 3 August 2007.

[28] On 3 August 2015, Nokia announced that it had reached a deal to sell its Here digital maps division to a consortium of three German automakers—BMW, Daimler AG, and Volkswagen Group, for €2.8 billion.

[31] In September, it was announced that Daimler had led a fundraising round for car-sharing start up Turo, which is a platform that lets owners rent their vehicles out to other users.

[32] It also acquired Flinc, a German startup that has built an app for peer-to-peer-style carpooling, has invested in Storedot, Careem, Blacklane, and FlixBus.

In September 2019, Daimler announced that it would be "stopping its internal combustion engine development initiatives as part of its efforts to embrace electric vehicles.

"[34][better source needed] In February 2020, Daimler partnered with Twelve to create the world's first C-pillar made with polycarbonate from CO2 electrolysis in an effort towards a fully carbon neutral fleet.

[45] On 28 January 2022, CEO Ola Källenius announced that Daimler will be rebranded as Mercedes-Benz to pursue a higher valuation for the company as it shifts deeper into high-tech electric vehicles.

The Sprinter is available on the U.S. market as a panel van, crew bus and chassis in several variants with three lengths and roof heights, six-cylinder diesel or gasoline engines.

[96] Daimler AG is involved in a joint project with Archer Daniels Midland Company and Bayer CropScience to develop the semi-evergreen shrub jatropha curcas as a biofuel.

The O-Bahn system was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by sharing tram tunnels in the German city of Essen.

On 1 April 2010, Daimler AG's German and Russian subsidiaries each pleaded guilty to two counts of bribery charges brought by the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Additionally, Louis J. Freeh, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, served as an independent monitor to oversee Daimler's compliance with anti-bribery laws.

[106] The SEC case was sparked in 2004 after David Bazzetta, a former auditor at then DaimlerChrysler Corp, filed a whistleblower complaint after he was fired for raising questions about bank accounts controlled by Mercedes-Benz units in South America.

[107] Bazzetta alleged that he learned in a July 2001 corporate audit executive committee meeting in Stuttgart that business units "continued to maintain secret bank accounts to bribe foreign government officials", though the company knew the practice violated U.S. laws.

In another attempt to silence Bazzetta, Daimler later offered to settle his termination of employment suit out of court and he eventually accepted a settlement.

But Daimler's strategy with Bazzetta proved to be a failure as the U.S. criminal investigation for violating anti-bribery laws was already underway in what has been one of the most wide-ranging cases brought against a foreign corporation.

[106] According to the charges, the bribes were frequently made by over-invoicing customers and paying the excess back to top government officials or their proxies.

The bribes also took the form of luxury European vacations, armored Mercedes vehicles for high-ranking government officials and a birthday gift to the dictator of Turkmenistan, Turkmenbashi (Saparmurat Niyazov), including a golden box and 10,000 copies of his personal manifesto, Ruhnama, translated into German.

[108][109] Investigators also found that the firm violated the terms of the United Nations' Oil-for-Food Programme with Iraq by giving kickbacks worth 10% of the contract values to officials within the Iraqi government, then led by Saddam Hussein.

"Using offshore bank accounts, third-party agents and deceptive pricing practices, [Daimler AG, its subsidiaries and its affiliates] saw foreign bribery as a way of doing business," said Mythili Raman, a principal deputy in the Justice Department's criminal division.

[111] "It is no exaggeration to describe corruption and bribe-paying at Daimler as a standard business practice", Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's enforcement division, said in a statement.

Daimler AG was listed with the symbol "DAI" on the New York Stock Exchange, giving the Justice Department jurisdiction over the German car maker's payments in countries around the globe.

Judge Richard J. Leon of the United States District Court in Washington, D.C., approved the plea agreement and settlement, calling it a "just resolution."