Mercedes dose not make brake pads. They out source them just like all the rest of the parts on the car. They take bids from Textar , Pagid , Jurid , and ATE. Whoever gives them the best deal is who gets the contract for that model. They use to mostly use Textar but recently have started to use Pagid. Next time some one buys a set of pads from the dealer look on the backing plate to see who they were made by.