Mercedes Sprinter "BP"

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter "BP", Era V - VI.

As soon as you hear the letters B and P, you immediately see the green / yellow logo. A trademark that has been firmly established over the years. The current BP flower (Helios character), which emerges as a logo since 24.07.2000, on the other hand, needs a bit more getting used to.

The history of the enterprise began 1904 in Germany. Founded in Berlin as DPAG (Deutsche Petroleum-Aktiengesellschaft), in 1906 it became part of the EPU (European Petroleum Union) and expanded in the same year through a subsidiary called the British Petroleum Company in Great Britain. The well-known abbreviation of the brand name "BP" was born.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the German-owned BP Company was confiscated by the British Government and transferred to the ownership of the APOC (Anglo-Persian Oil Company), whose development areas are located on Iranian soil. Following the conclusion of an amended concession agreement, APOC was renamed AIOC (Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) in 1935. In 1953, the previously British-owned AIOC was nationalized by a decision of the Iranian Parliament.

All shares of British property outside Iran, together with the shares returned by the new Iranian rulers, were renamed British Petroleum Company - BP for short. A global advertising campaign begins and so the company conquers the American market in 1998 and merges with Amoco to form BP Amoco.

Further mergers followed, such as in 2000 with the lubricant specialist Burmah Castrol. This changed the appearance of the well-known logo of »BP« to »Helios symbol«. The interesting story of a global company whose fleet is just as varied as its mission.