Mannheim - The date is a fixed entry in the calendars of private bus operators and public transport specialists at transport companies. In the odd years between the IAA International Commercial Vehicles Show, industry experts from throughout Europe meet at the Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach Show in Mannheim in mid-November.

This year, the Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach unit welcomed around 5000 participants from more than 20 countries to the Bus and Coach Show. In this anniversary year of the automobile, the event echoed the motto of "125! years of innovation". This is of special significance in the city of the automobile’s inventor, Carl Benz. Benz invented the automobile 125 years ago, followed by the bus ten years later. This planted the seed for a unique tradition and enormous store of knowledge, which provided the platform for the barrage of new products for the Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach unit in this anniversary year of the invention of the automobile.

The exterior design of many of the vehicles on show reflects the birth of the automobile. It also shows how appealing and imaginative the appearance of buses can be.

A replica of Carl Benz’s first automobile - the Patent Motor Car of 1886 - in the reception area and the depiction of the milestones in bus and coach history link past and present, and convey the uniqueness and fascination of the Mercedes-Benz brand.

However, the focus of the Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach Show is not on nostalgia or a romanticised view of the past. Instead, looking back at the origin and milestones of development focuses attention on the outstanding qualities of buses and coaches bearing the three-pointed star today and in the future.