Which company was formed when Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merged in 1998?

The 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler formed DaimlerChrysler.

Daimler-Benz, the German company associated with Mercedes-Benz, combined with Chrysler Corporation of the United States in a transaction announced as a merger of equals. The deal created one of the world’s largest automobile groups and joined strongly different vehicle portfolios and corporate cultures.

The combined company retained the DaimlerChrysler name until 2007. That year, Daimler sold Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management, after which the parent company returned to the Daimler name. Chrysler later passed through additional ownership changes and eventually became part of Stellantis in 2021.

The phrase “merger of equals” is often remembered as a description of the deal, but later events showed that control and integration were more complicated. DaimlerChrysler was a historical corporate name, not the current name of either automaker.