The Stuttgart area is known for its high-tech industry. Some of its most prominent companies include Daimler AG, Porsche, Bosch, Celesio, Hewlett-Packard and IBM � all of whom have their world or European headquarters here.
Stuttgart is home to Germany's ninth biggest exhibition centre, Stuttgart Trade Fair which lies on the city outskirts next to Stuttgart Airport. Hundreds of SMEs are still based in Stuttgart (often termed Mittelstand), many still in family ownership with strong ties to the automotive, electronics, engineering and high-tech industry. Contact Air, a regional airline and Lufthansa subsidiary, is headquartered in Stuttgart.
Stuttgart has the highest general standard of prosperity of any city in Germany. Its nominal GDP per capita is �57,100 and GDP purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita is �55,400. Total GDP of Stuttgart is �33.9 billion, of which service sector contributes around 65.3%, industry 34.5%, and agriculture 0.2%.
The automobile and motorcycle were invented in Stuttgart (by Karl Benz and subsequently industrialised in 1887 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach at the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft). As a result it is considered by many to be the starting point of the worldwide automotive industry and is sometimes referred to as "The cradle of the automobile". Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Maybach are all produced in Stuttgart and nearby towns. Thus, local residents lovingly nicknamed their home city "Benztown". The very first prototypes of the VW Beetle were manufactured in Stuttgart based on a design by Ferdinand Porsche. Also automotive parts giants Bosch and Mahle are based in the city. A number of auto-enthusiast magazines are published in Stuttgart.
The region currently has Germany's highest density of scientific, academic and research organisations. No other region in Germany registers so many patents and designs as Stuttgart. Almost 45% of Baden-W�rttemberg scientists involved in R&D are based
