The Stuttgart region is home to approximately 150000 companies and the area is known for its high-tech, mechanical engineering and automotive industry. Some of its most prominent companies include DaimlerChrysler (Mercedes Benz automobiles), Porsche, Bosch (components supplier and mechanical engineering), Celesio (pharmaceuticals), Hewlett-Packard (computer and peripherals) and IBM (software), all of whom have located their international or German headquarters here.
Stuttgart is the place where the motorbike and the four-wheeled automobile were invented, hence the statement that Stuttgart is the birthplace of individual mobility.
The car was first developed by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, and industrialised production began here in 1887 by Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in their Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. Famous and prestigious brands (Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Maybach) are produced here. The very first prototypes of the VW Beetle were fabricated in Stuttgart, based on a design by Ferdinand Porsche.
Proving the links to the region, the Porsche logo has Stuttgart depicted in the centre, and the horse and stag antlers are derived from the symbols of Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg.
The region currently has Germany's highest density of scientific, academic and research organisations, and has the most patent applications. More than 11% of all R&D-expenses in the Germany are generated here (approximately €4.3 billion yearly). In addition to several universities and colleges, the area has six institutes of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, four institutes for collaborative industrial research at local universities, two Max-Planck institutes, as well as one large-scale research centre: the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). The Stuttgart Stock Exchange is the second largest in Germany (only behind Frankfurt) and important financial companies have headquarters in Stuttgart.