| | Beginning with the invention of the motorized bus by Karl Benz in 1895, the brand still has a leading role in both technology and sales volume to the present day. Daimler and Benz engaged in the same neck-to-neck competition with buses and coaches as in the development of the diesel engine. |
| The strengths of two brands |
With the first joint bus range under the Mercedes-Benz brand, the two companies combined the strengths of Daimler and Benz from 1927. The result was a major boost in innovative strength: all-steel bodies, diesel engines as standard and major increases in engine performance marked the fast rate of progress up to the beginning of World War II. The O 3500 and O 6600 in 1949 and 1950 were the last of the classic bus models. From 1951 Daimler-Benz opted for other drive configurations and designs: with the rear engine of the
O 6600 H, the semi-integral design of the O 321 H, the O 319 small bus and the underfloor engine of the O 317 city bus, the company achieved new milestones during the 1950s. Time and again, the O 321 H and its successors established new production and sales records. |
| The trend towards the special-purpose bus |
| The versatile O 302 introduced in 1965 finally marked a change from the general-purpose bus to a distinction between the city bus and the touring coach. The standard O 305 regular service bus with its articulated and rural service variants reinforced this trend. Success continued from 1974, with the world sales record of the Mercedes-Benz O 303 which has long been a legend in the history of the bus. The highly specialized regular service buses, the Mercedes-Benz O 405, O 405 G and O 407, marked further advances in development, as did the low-floor O 405 N with its step-free entry for passengers. From 1991 another technical highlight was marked by the O 404 touring coach. This was soon complemented with the Tourismo, an emotionally appealing and favorably priced touring coach. |
| More innovative strength with EvoBus |
| The formation of EvoBus GmbH in 1995 provided the Mercedes-Benz and Setra brands with a major innovative impetus. The Integro rural service bus, the revolutionary Citaro city bus and the no less interesting Cito midibus were launched in rapid succession. Meanwhile the fuel cell powered NEBUS marked a further milestone in 1997. |
| The Travego as the present pinnacle of development |
| In 1999 development reached its present pinnacle with the strikingly designed and technically sophisticated Mercedes-Benz Travego touring coach. The redesigned Tourismo and the new Mercedes-Benz Medio midibus introduced in 2000 added further attractive models to the range of coaches. Mercedes-Benz successfully entered the 21st century with a completely up-to-date product range. No bus manufacturer has more experience and comparable innovative strength. |
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