When we talk about luxury cars, Mercedes Benz is the name that usually comes to mind. Although there are some superfine luxury car brands as well such as Rolls Royce which produces fewer than 100 cars a year, it is brands like Mercedes Benz which brings in the luxury element to the production cars.
And among the classiest of all features, the Mercedes Benz Emblem is one of the things that has always appealed to the buyers. Mercedes has defined its whole legacy with this Emblem and updated it from time to time.
About Mercedes Benz
Mercedes Benz is a German automobile manufacturer which has its key products in the form of luxury private vehicles and commercial vehicles such as trucks. The company dates back to 1926 making it one of the oldest car manufacturers in the world. Mercedes Benz produces over 2 million cars a year and has stayed as the largest seller of premium vehicles for many years.
Since the brand is focusing on luxury only, it has the slogan of “the best or nothing”. Mercedes has a limited product portfolio which mainly includes the C-Class, E-Class, and S-Class. There is A-Class, M-Class, and G-Class as well but are not much demanded. The most expensive car produced by Mercedes Benz is the S600 Maybach.
History of Mercedes Benz
Mercedes Benz came as an idea of electronics and engineering visioned together by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. The two had always been active in testing out vehicles and trying to invent their own ones so as to maximize convenience for themselves. For example, Karl Benz developed his motorized tricycle in 1886.
They both established separate companies with Gottlieb Daimler creating Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft while Karl Benz came up with the idea of Benz and Cie. Although the two had some success initially this was not long-lived as the war in Germany caused a sudden hike in fuel prices making it quite unaffordable for the users. Eventually, in 1926, the two companies joined hands to form Daimler Benz.
It did come up as a profitable merger since 7000 cars were produced one year later and were sold without a problem. The W15 came out as a popular variant that emerged as one of the most desirable vehicles in the era. Eventually, the company was renamed after the car Mercedes as Mercedes Benz.
What does the logo of Mercedes Represent?
The current logo of Mercedes Benz, as we all see, is in the form of a three-pointed star or as it is called the Emblem of Mercedes. The logo of Mercedes represents three different perspectives which include best in land, best in air, and best at the sea. Surprisingly, the three-pointed star has been part of the Mercedes Benz logo since 1909.
However, there have been several changes in the logo. It can also be considered as a symbolism of the strength, prevalence, and performance of the Mercedes Benz cars. The design of this logo was not something that came as a special design rather it was a symbol that was used by Gottlieb Daimler when he sent postcards to her wife. Today, this simple symbol is of one of the biggest automakers in the world depicting pure class.
Read more about how Audi’s Emblem has changed in many years – How Has the Audi Emblem Changed Over the Years?
First Logo – 1902
In 1902, the logo of Mercedes was not the emblem or a three-pointed star rather the word “Mercedes” was used. For those who wonder how the name Mercedes was chosen for cars, it was the name of the daughter of Emil Jellinek. After the death of Daimler in 1900, Wilhelm Maybach had taken over the company and invited racing enthusiast Emil Jellinek as the partner.
The word “Mercedes” is a Spanish name for girls which means grace. The word Mercedes was used for most of the cars being manufactured by the company which is why it got popular. In 1909, Jellinek legally changed his name to Emil Jellinek Mercedes. The three-pointed star came after that.
Three-Pointed Star – 1909
The revolutionary emblem became a part of Mercedes in 1909. Unlike the logo we see today, this one was pretty different as it had shades of gold and dark brown only making it a suitable color combination. The word “Mercedes” was no longer used, and the emblem was considered sufficient. Gottlieb Daimler, who first made this symbol, once predicted that this would become the most famous identity of a corporate brand in the future.
On the other hand, Benz was also working as a separate identity by this time. The logo for Benz was like the text logo of Mercedes but the only difference was that this text was written inside a circle. The picture below shows the logo of Benz in 1909.
Emblem Updated – 1916
A retro-style logo in the history of Mercedes has been the one that got introduced in 1916. See the picture below. The three-pointed star was changed into a completely white color while the text “Mercedes” was written once again inside a circle. The only difference was that in this logo, there were four stars inside the circle as well. This was the last logo of Mercedes as an independent entity. After 1926, the logo was changed as Mercedes and Benz united.
Mercedes and Benz Join Hands – 1926
Benz merged with Daimler in the year 1926 and created a historic moment. The success of this collaboration is apparent even today. Since the two had been long-term colleagues as well, joining hands in such collaboration was quite useful for the two. The most important change was to the logo of the company which showed much sophistication and grace.
The concept of a Laurel Wreath was also induced in the logo as shown below. The two words “Mercedes” and “Benz” both were written. The three-pointed emblem was in a classy silver look which gave it a much corporate feel as compared to the previous logos of both companies. This also became the new brand identity for the two companies. Currently, this is the logo which has been used the longest by the company, for over 50 years.
Making it more Sophisticated – 1990s
In the 1990s, the logo of Mercedes was given a more elegant look by separating the three-star emblem while using the words “Mercedes Benz” beside it. From this time, the logo has been used in different ways. Sometimes, the text was written below the three-pointed star while other times, it was written beside it.
In 2010, the logo had the slogan of the company written beside it too. This said “The Best or Nothing” since Mercedes was highly focused on the most premium cars to be produced for the customers. Since the 1990s, the logo has remained the same with no major difference. The remarkable legacy of Mercedes Benz continues as one of the greatest automobile manufacturers in the world.
Did you know that even in the 1980s, Mercedes had one of the most expensive production cars? Find out more here – The Most Expensive Luxury Cars of the 1980s
Future Designs
Mercedes is thinking further on it to make the future design more innovative and better. This would be directed towards symbolism that Mercedes aims to generate with its cars in the form of a “Luxury Vehicle”. Mercedes has high values set for the audience and its target market which is why updating and accurately managing the brand identity most appropriately is one of the most important aspects.
The question remains whether the current logo will be used or will there be a complete revamp of it. From what we know, there isn’t a chance that Mercedes suddenly disrupts the brand identity by changing the three-pointed star. However, design changes, or perhaps, a change in the slogan is expected which will recreate the elite value set by Mercedes.
Conclusion
Despite Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and several other automakers working in the industry, there has not been any major impact on the operations, sales, or profitability of Mercedes over the past many years. Being such a successful brand, it has set itself entirely unique and a key part of this contribution has been due to the logo that was created by the company.
After so many changes, what we see today, is the ultimate level of Mercedes depicting the topmost position. Experts believe that Mercedes might become the top brand of the automobile industry someday. With huge disruption, research, and development, this does seem feasible.