Looking for vehicle specifications? Compare cars or decode a VIN.

Compare cars brands

Explore their origins, identifying marks and logo archives side by side.

Origins and Logo Archive

What we compareMercedes-BenzAudi
Country in archiveGermanyGermany
FoundedJune 28, 1926July 16, 1909
FounderKarl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler (through Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft)August Horch
HeadquartersStuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyIngolstadt, Bavaria, Germany
Name originMercedes comes from Mercédès Jellinek, the daughter of the Austrian entrepreneur Emil Jellinek, who sold Daimler cars and raced them under the name Mercedes. Benz comes from Karl Benz, whose company Benz & Cie. merged with Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1926 to form Daimler-Benz.The name is the Latin translation of founder August Horch's surname. Horch means "listen" in German and audi is the singular imperative of the Latin audire. After a court ruled that August Horch could no longer use his own name for his second company, the name was proposed by the son of a business friend in 1909, and the firm was entered in the register as Audi in 1910.
Selected modelsMercedes 35 hp, SSK, W125, 300 SL, S-Class, G-ClassAudi Front, Auto Union Type C, Quattro, A4, TT, R8
Earliest archived brand logo19261909
Latest archived logo20112016
Archived logo assets912

Logo dates are archive labels; symbols dated before a brand's founding are excluded from its earliest-logo date. Asset counts include all archived variants, not just redesigns. A dash means a value is unavailable.

Sources & editorial review

More Brand Comparisons

Explore brand and vehicle rankings →