Foundation of BMW vs. Mercedes - Term Paper Example

 BMW vs. Mercedes BMW is the abbreviated form of Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. It is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing giant which was founded in the year 1916. Mercedes-Benz is also a German manufacturer which has under its umbrella the production of automobiles, trucks, buses and coaches. It was founded in the year 1881. BMW owns the Mini brand, and has to its credit of being the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Its motorcycles are produced under the title of BMW Motorrad as well as Husqvama brands. BMW is renowned for luxury and performance vehicles worldwide. On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz has originated from Daimler AG which was formerly owned by Daimler-Benz. The founder of BMW was Franz Josef Popp while Mercedes-Benz was founded by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. Both these automobile manufacturers have served the worldwide markets ever since they came into this industry. Mercedes-Benz is one of the most well-known names in the automobile industry and this is the reason that it has a heritage as old as the times when cars started to get manufactured. According to 2009 estimates, BMW had more than 96,000 employees working its cadre. Mercedes-Benz is not any far off from BMW in this regard. In the year 2006, BMW produced 1,366,838 four-wheeled vehicles within 5 different countries of the world. In the year 2009, BMW manufactured 1,258,417 similar vehicles. The Motorrad brand produced 82,631 motorcycles within 2009. The five different nations where it was produced included Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, United States of America and South Africa. On the flip side, Mercedes-Benz is produced in Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, India, South Africa, Turkey, United States of America and Vietnam to name a few. Within motor sport, BMW has made its mark. It has been an active motor sport ally since the production of the first BMW motorcycle. It has sponsored the Formula BMW as well as the Kumho BMW Championship. Within other races in terms of the motorcycle category, BMW has took part in the Isle of Man TT, Dakar Rally and Superbike World Championship. It has achieved immense success within Formula One. BMW powered cars have won nearly 20 races and other achievements have included the Grand Prix wins and the pole positions, etc. BMW has a nomenclature of its own where it is denoted by a 3 digit number that is followed by a single or even a couple of letters. The first number is usually the number of the series. Within the bicycle range, it has created high-end dealerships which suggests for its success (Kiley 2004). Similarly, Mercedes-Benz has passenger cars within its fleet where the most famous among them has remained the A-Class, GL-Class and the S-Class. Mercedes-Benz has also played its role at being the world’s biggest manufacturer of trucks. Its buses are produced specifically for European and Asian markets (Thornton 2000). It also has to its credit a range of vans. The Mercedes-Benz significant models produced to date include the 1965 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the 1991 Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL, the 1997 Mercedes-Benz M-Class, and the latest 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Mercedes-Benz had alliance with McLaren Cars for the production of sports cars. Just like BMW, Mercedes-Benz also has a nomenclature which was changed in 1994. It was amended to reflect Class or Model after that. Mercedes-Benz Accessories brought out 3 new bicycles in 2005 which was named the Automatic Bike, Fitness Bike and the Mountain Bike. These bikes were sold within Germany, Russia and Australia as the production was pretty limited. BMW has played its role within the Corporate Social Responsibility regimes as well. Its environmental record is something to write home about. It is a charter member of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). BMW brought out 49 models which had EU5/6 emissions norm with about 20 different models having CO2 output measured less than 140g/km. The eco-friendly approach of BMW can be gauged from this technology without a doubt. BMW has also been on the receiving end where some critics have strongly blamed BMW of accusations of gteenwash which is in relation with their BMW Hydrogen 7 (Yates 2000). These critics were of the belief that the emissions which were produced during the hydrogen fuel manufacturing outweighed in the minimization of tailpipe emissions. As per its community works, BMW hosted the BMW Films from 2001 till about 2005. It showed how its sporty models were driven to extremes raising a lot of popularity within the enthusiastic car owners and community members. This turned into a very renowned advertising campaign in the later years. Mercedes-Benz has had numerous innovations ever since it came into being. It has to its credit the first passenger car which had brakes on all four wheels, in 1924. In 2003, Mercedes-Benz brought into display the first seven-speed automatic transmission which was referred to as the 7G-Tronic. It has also been the pioneer of the system called Pre-Safe to find out if there is a crash ahead, thereby putting the car’s systems of safety to have a response optimally. Going back in 1980s, Mercedes-Benz manufactured the first robot car, thereby influencing robot car research as well as similar funding mechanisms all over the world (Blau 1995). Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz have played pivotal roles within the world of automobiles and their eventual manufacturing. As they represent class and distinction, their target audience is also set accordingly. Not everyone can afford to buy either of these vehicles. They have a class of their own which is understood by audiences all over the world. In the end, it can be safely said that both BMW and Mercedes-Benz have made their mark globally and the two are known to represent state of the art engine systems and design philosophies. It can be said that BMW and Mercedes-Benz would hit new benchmarks and become hallmarks even in the years to come. All said and done, writing about BMW and Mercedes-Benz is something that excites many writers worldwide and this essay was no exception to this rule. References Blau, J (1995). Daimler-benz Research Centralizes for Value. Research Technology Management, Vol. 38 Kiley, D (2004). Driven: Inside BMW, the Most Admired Car Company in the World. Wiley Thornton, T (2000). Germany, Inc.: The New German Juggernaut and Its Challenge to World Business. John Wiley & Sons Yates, T (2000). BMW Is Back! Law & Order, Vol. 48, April Read More