MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a German manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909. Wilhelm Maybach was the technical director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), a predecessor company of the German multinational automotive corporation Daimler AG, until he left in 1907. On 23 March 1909, he founded the new company, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH, with his son Karl Maybach as director. A few years later the company was renamed to Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH, which originally developed and manufactured diesel and petrol engines for Zeppelins, and then railcars. The Maybach Mb.IVa was used in aircraft and airships of World War I.

The Mercedes-Benz Group AG is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-Benz was formed with the merger of Benz & Cie., the world's oldest car company, and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft in 1926. The company was renamed DaimlerChrysler upon the acquisition of American automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation in 1998, and was again renamed Daimler AG upon divestment of Chrysler in 2007. In 2021, Daimler AG was the second-largest German automaker and the sixth-largest worldwide by production. In February 2022, Daimler was renamed Mercedes-Benz Group as part of a transaction that spun-off its commercial vehicle segment as an independent company, Daimler Truck.