Around 125 years ago, we established the modern transport industry with our trucks and buses. Today, we are one of the largest commercial vehicle manufacturers in the world.
Company history
1895
The world's first bus
The Landauer of Carl Benz is the first motorized bus in the world. In 1895, it connected the town of Siegen with the towns of Netphen and Deuz, covering a distance of around 15 kilometers. On 18 March 1895 at 6:26 a.m. precisely, Carl Benz’s bus drove this route for the first time.
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1896
The world's first truck
In 1896, the first Daimler motorized truck was delivered to London and the Benz “Lieferungswagen” traveled through the streets of Paris. Benz & Cie’s “Lieferungswagen (delivery truck)” was characterized by a load capacity of around 600 kilograms. It was derived from the Phaeton passenger car. Gottlieb Daimler's first truck carried a payload of 1.5 tonnes and was powered by a 4 hp 2-cylinder Phoenix engine.
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1951
Acquisition of Unimog
The Unimog ("Universal-Motor-Gerät" (universal motorized machine)) was unveiled to the public as early as August 1948. This all-purpose vehicle designed for agricultural purposes was produced by Gebr. Boehringer GmbH in Göppingen from 1949. Following the takeover by Daimler-Benz AG in 1951, Unimog production was established in Gaggenau and the Unimog developed into an important image carrier.
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1981
Acquisition of Freightliner
In 1981, Daimler-Benz AG purchased Freightliner from Consolidated Freightways. Vehicle sales more than doubled over the next ten years. With its enormous technological resources, Daimler-Benz helped Freightliner to reach the top of the North American heavy-duty truck market by 1992.
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1995
Integration of the Setra brand
In February 1995, the then Mercedes-Benz AG merged its previous bus product unit and the Setra bus division of Kässbohrer into the newly founded subsidiary EvoBus GmbH (now Daimler Buses). Since then, the Mercedes-Benz and Setra brands have continued to operate on the market as independent bus brands.
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1998
Inclusion of Thomas Built Buses
In 1998, the Thomas Built Buses brand was added to the Group portfolio via Freightliner as part of what was then DaimlerChrysler Trucks North America.
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2000
Acquisition of Western Star Trucks
Further growth and diversification continued with the acquisition of Canadian Western Star Trucks Holding, Ltd., a truck manufacturer based in Kelowna, British Columbia, in 2000.
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2003
Initial participation in FUSO
In 2003, former Daimler AG acquired a 43 percent stake in Mitsubishi Fuso, as part of the spin-off of Mitsubishi’s truck and bus division. Daimler Truck has held a share of almost 90 percent since 2011. FUSO trucks are manufactured in Kawasaki (Japan), Ordagam (India) and Tramagal (Portugal). FUSO buses are manufactured in Toyama (Japan). In addition, FUSO vehicles are assembled on site at 16 CKD sites worldwide.
2012
Launch of BharatBenz Trucks
In 2012, Daimler launched the BharatBenz brand in India. The first trucks “made in India” were presented in Hyderabad in March. At the six-day product premiere, future customers, dealers and media representatives marveled at the first light to heavy-duty BharatBenz trucks.
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2015
Launch of BharatBenz Buses
With the introduction of BharatBenz buses in May 2015, Daimler opened another chapter in the Indian commercial vehicle sector.
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2021
Start of Daimler Truck Financial Services
The company was created 2021 by a spin-off from the Daimler Mobility segment in the course of the realignment of Daimler AG. Operations started on 1 December 2021 in Australia, Brazil, Japan, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and the USA. Argentina, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Türkiye and Germany followed in 2022. In 2023, France was the 16th market to start.
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2021
Daimler Truck as an independent company
On 1 December 2021, the spin-off of Daimler Truck from Daimler Group was completed. On 10 December 2021, Daimler Truck Holding AG launched into a new era with the first trading day on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. After the spin-off from Daimler AG, the day of the initial listing for Daimler Truck symbolizes the start of unrestricted entrepreneurial autonomy.
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2023
Launch of RIZON Trucks
2023 Daimler Truck launched the RIZON brand in the U.S. market. The brand started with three fully electric models in the medium-duty truck segment (Class 4 and 5). The new brand and products were presented to the public for the first time at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Anaheim, California (USA).
