Wilhelm Maybach was the technical director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), a predecessor company of the German multinational automotive corporation Daimler AG, until he left in 1907.

On 23 March 1909, he founded the new company, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH (Aircraft Engine Manufacturing Corp), with his son Karl Maybach as director.

The company first built an experimental car in 1919, with the first production model introduced two years later at the Berlin Motor Show.

The company was renamed MTU Friedrichshafen in the 1960s and continued to supply the engines for the Leopard 2 main battle tank.

MTU Friedrichshafen remained a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler until 2006 when it was sold off to the EQT IV private equity fund, becoming a part of the Tognum Corporation.