Daimler Magazine

The ancestor of today’s automobiles was the Benz Patent Motor Car of 1886. This three-wheeled vehicle has been further developed by generations of engineers. Since that year, Daimler AG alone has registered patents for 120,000 innovations. In purely arithmetical terms, that amounts to five per day. But who are the people behind these ideas? What motivates them? And how can inventiveness be cultivated in the course of daily work at the Group? To answer this question, we met up with Urs Böhme, a developer who is one of the most productive patent applicants at Daimler.

The Summer Games in Tokyo, the Geneva International Motor Show — and yes, even the Oktoberfest in Munich: The coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible to stage major events, at least for the time being. However, what is to be done when the law requires that certain events be held during this year — for example the annual shareholders’ meetings of stock corporations? Well, in such a situation, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, such as the organization and staging of Daimler’s first-ever completely virtual Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on Wednesday. Here’s how it happened.

The year 2020 is only half over, but by now it’s already quite clear which topic will dominate our end-of-the-year reviews in December. The spread of a novel coronavirus has turned our lives upside down in ways we could not have imagined just a few months ago. At Daimler as well, many things have changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic: A chronology of work interruptions, social distancing rules, and everyday mask wearing.

75 years ago today, the second World War ended in Europe. Daimler has since accounted for the company's role in it. These years stand for the darkest chapter of our history - and we are aware of the enormous responsibility arising from it.

Michael Lahres and Oliver Neufang know how to deal with hot stuff: After all, they have to work with temperatures of around 680 degrees Celsius every day. That's the temperature of the laser beam that melts extremely fine aluminum powder so that it can then be printed into a component. In other words, 3D-printed parts are no longer a far-fetched vision at Daimler, but reality.

For World Women's Day: This article is about four strong women. And their points of view. We're proud to introduce Amie, Margit, Antje and Chantalle.

It’s their mailbox that regularly reminds the accident researchers of Mercedes-Benz are that their job must be one of the most exciting in the automotive industry. Team Leader Heiko Bürkle has long since stopped counting the number of unsolicited job applications his unit receives. But what is it that’s so fascinating about working with bent and warped metal parts and scratched paint. And how does this work help improve the safety of vehicles with the three-pointed star? We decided to accompany our accident research colleagues for one day.

Isn’t it paradox how more and more everyday things are now publicly considered inappropriate or even derided, but at the same time often very popular when judged by actual consumer behavior? Just think of travelling by plane, steaks on your Barbecue, fireworks on New Year’s Eve or, speaking about motors, sport utility vehicles, or SUVs for short. Why is this the case? And why is this class of vehicle criticized more often than any other? We wanted to know whether the criticism is justified.

Ever since the invention of the automobile, innovations have been a fixed element of Daimler’s DNA. But the transformation of the automobile industry has never been as pervasive and dynamic as it is today. In this interview Jasmin Eichler, Head of Future Technologies Research at Daimler, explains how Group Research aims to resolve the major issues related to the future of the automobile and sustainable mobility.

In Germany, 60 percent of the employees commute to their jobs on a daily basis, spending an average of 44 minutes a day on the road. That adds up to seven full days per year. And this trend is rising. Individual mobility plays a huge role in this process. About two thirds of the commuters use their own cars, which are generally powered by a conventional drive system. More and more companies are considering how they can make their employees’ way to work less congested and more environmentally friendly. At Daimler as well, employees from various units are developing new corporate mobility solutions.