Motometer (historical names: Moto Meter, MotoMeter, Moto-Meter, MM) is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

, known for measuring and displaying instruments for workshops and vehicle equipment. The originally independent company was founded at the beginning of the 20th century in the area of

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

(South Germany). Until its

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

in 1995, the Moto Meter AG was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

History

In the year 1912, a Swabian inventor started the development of practical tools as well as measuring- and displaying instruments for workshops and vehicle equipment companies. Some of the instruments developed at the beginnings of Motometer's traditional history can still be found in workshops today, such as the Recording Compression Tester or the Tyre Pressure Tester. In 1925 the Moto-Meter-GmbH (

Frankfurt a.M. Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its nam ...

) was mentioned in business documents for the first time. One year later, the company was listed in the Commercial Registry Stuttgart as “Moto Meter Hermann Schlaich GmbH”.Moto Meter Hermann Schlaich (Hrsg.): ''Fünfzig Jahre MOTO METER - Messen, regeln und steuern mit MOTO METER''. Daco-Verlag, Stuttgart 1962. In 1966, the Moto Meter Hermann Schlaich GmbH owned four production plants (

Leonberg Leonberg (; swg, Leaberg) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district (''Landkr ...

, Neckarhausen and

Nagold Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the ''Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viad ...

), where 1100 people were employed. The documents of the Moto Meter Hermann Schlaich GmbH could be found in the archive for corporate publications in the German Museum (

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...

) in Munich today. In 1969 the company changed the firm’s name into Moto Meter GmbH, the head office was placed in Leonberg. In 1977 the Moto Meter GmbH was incorporated. In 1991, the Moto Meter AG had been taken over by the

Robert Bosch GmbH Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch and stylized as BOSCH, is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 1886. Bosch is 9 ...

. Bosch/Motometer held in 1991 a market share of approx. 10% in the strong concentrated market of displaying instruments and ranked third therewith. Market leaders were

Magneti Marelli Magneti Marelli S.p.A. () is an Italian developer and manufacturer of components for the automotive industry. The firm is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and includes 86 manufacturing plants, 12 R&D centres, and 26 application centers in 19 c ...

and VDO in these times. Bosch/Motometer delivered 95% of the instrument panels, which were installed by the German vehicle manufacturers. In 1992 the company changed the firm’s name into MM Messtechnik GmbH; the MM Messtechnik GmbH closed a contract with the Robert Bosch GmbH. In 1996 the IVEKA Automotive Technologies Schauz GmbH was founded in Mühlacker, assumed the

Motometer and continued with its distribution and commercialisation. During the liquidation of the Moto Meter AG through the

the

Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inc ...

of Germany it was decided due to the appeal of the German Association for the Protection of Small Shareholders that each liquidation through a majority shareholder had to be checked judicially.1 BvR 68/95 / 1 BvR 147/97
In: Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgericht, 2000. The property appeal was dismissed due to insignificance, because the association held only two shares of the Moto Meter AG.

Today’s products and company structure

The Motometer Group offers today a wide range of services and products, which varies from OEM-products (products for

Original Equipment Manufacturers An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

) and aftermarket products to customised solutions for small and medium-sized series. The Motometer Group consists of three subdivisions. The trade-, distribution- and service-department, the development-department and the production-department,
NAP automotive GmbH, Pforzheim which are represented through three independent corporations.

External links

Official Website
of IVEKA Automotive Technologies Schauz GmbH, the owner of the

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

References

{{reflist Automotive companies of Germany Economy of Baden-Württemberg