Mercedes-Benz is celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2026 under the theme “140 Years of Innovation”, and Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen has publicly congratulated the German carmaker on the milestone. IWC describes Mercedes-Benz as a longstanding partner, a relationship that ties one of the oldest names in the car industry to one of Switzerland’s established watch manufacturers. The announcement is a marker of the anniversary year rather than a product launch, and the release itself carries no vehicle details.
Mercedes-Benz has spent 2026 marking 140 years since the birth of the automobile under the banner “140 Years of Innovation”. The latest note in that campaign comes not from Stuttgart alone but from Schaffhausen in Switzerland, where watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has congratulated the carmaker on the anniversary.
A partnership between two long-established names
IWC refers to Mercedes-Benz as a longstanding partner, and the joint announcement was issued from both Schaffhausen and Stuttgart. Beyond that, the material released by Mercedes-Benz keeps the details brief: it is a congratulation tied to the anniversary theme, not the presentation of a new car or a new product.
Cross-industry partnerships of this kind are common in the premium segment, where carmakers and watch brands share an audience and a vocabulary of precision engineering. What is unusual here is the anchor point — a company birthday that reaches back to the very beginning of the motor car.
Why 140 years
Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to 1886, the year Carl Benz patented his three-wheeled Patent Motor Car, which is widely recognised as the first automobile. That date makes 2026 the company’s 140th year, and it has become the frame for a series of anniversary communications through the year.
What it means
For buyers, this particular announcement changes nothing: there is no model, price or specification attached to it. Its significance is in positioning. Anniversary years give manufacturers a platform to remind the market of their heritage at a moment when the industry is being reshaped by electrification and by newer brands with no history to point back to. A partner from outside the car business adding its voice is part of that same exercise.
Whether the collaboration extends to anything tangible — a commemorative timepiece, a special edition, or a joint event — is not stated in the material issued by Mercedes-Benz.
Further details on the anniversary programme are published through the Mercedes-Benz media channels.
Source: mailing.mercedes-benz.com