The huge new laboratory will enable crash tests for the German manufacturer's entire range of combustion-engine-powered cars and trucks and buses as well as electrics.
Before each new model is launched, Daimler carries out around 15,000 different crash simulations on it on computers and 150 destructive crashes using prototypes, said a spokesman.
"Even in the age of computer simulation, crash tests remain indispensable," says Thomas Merker who is charge of safety development at the Mercedes-Benz brand.
The new Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety (TFS) in Sindelfingen, near Daimler's Stuttgart headquarters, has a test arena the size of a football field and took 10 years to complete. The facility opened in November cost a few hundred million euros to build.
At the heart of the complex is the 90-by-90-metre, entirely pillarless test arena where many different angles of impact can be staged, matching different sorts of junctions.
The area can be heated to simulate different climatic zones and is sited next to a new driving simulator and wind tunnels.
The crash centre allows for 70 different crash configurations, including offset smashes and up to four crash tests can be set up at the same time.
Pure electrics and hybrids are put through a distinct testing programme, since their underfloor battery packs deform differently in crashes.
The longest test track has a run-up distance of more than 200 metres. A sled allows the testing of individual components such as restraint systems.
New digital measuring technology in the dummies using just one data cable will take over from the previous analogue technology, said Daimler.
"The facility will enable us to carry out all crash tests on our own premises – not just more crash tests due to the growing product range, but also crash tests with future, new configurations," said Merker.
Mercedes-Benz built its first crash-testing facility in 1959.
