Mercedes fans are only just realising they've been pronouncing brand wrong all their lives

Mercedes, a name synonymous with prestige and innovation in the automotive industry, is one of the world's most legendary brands – yet, it turns out a significant number of people are mispronouncing its name.

The luxury car company, which dates back to its founding in 1926 by an illustrious quartet - Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach and Emil Jellinek - launched a product named after Jellinek’s daughter, Mercedes.

Boasting a rich history, the brand has grown to become a leading figure in premium automobiles internationally. Despite this acclaim, a recent Saga car insurance survey revealed many Britons struggle to pronounce the brand’s name correctly.

Participants were tasked with pronouncing the names of 30 top-selling automakers accurately, as well as trying to spell them correctly, and even sketch their logos from memory. As it transpired, merely 20% of Brits managed to hit the mark with Mercedes' authentic pronunciation.

The predominant error was articulating it as "Mer-say-deez". Nevertheless, the study acknowledged two pronunciations: the Spanish "Mer-th-eh-des Benz" and the more routine German enunciation, "Mer-say-dez Benz", as correct.

The question of how to correctly pronounce the iconic automobile brand has sparked a lively debate online, with one individual seeking advice on Reddit's Ireland forum. They posted: "Help me out here. I say Merseedays. I don't know where I picked it up. The F1 commentators say mersaydees on TV but they're not Irish. Has anyone any recordings of the former pronunciation? I found a post on boards.ie from 2010 saying that radio ads use this pronunciation but I can't find one anywhere!"

Responses varied widely, with one reply stating: "Mair-they-dayth", another advising: