On 29 January 1886, Carl Benz applied for a patent for his Benz motor car no. 1. It was a three-wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion engine and electric ignition that demonstrated its viability for real-life use during a test drive, with his wife, Bertha Benz, at the wheel. In collaboration with Wilhelm Maibach, Gottlieb Daimler developed the first motorbike and the mobile single-cylinder four-stroke engine. At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, he presented the first four-wheeled motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine.

In 1926, Benz & Companie and the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft merged to form the car manufacturer Mercedes. The brand is famous worldwide and has become a virtual poster child for the “Made in Germany” slogan.