Pioneering spirit in the DNA since 1886.

The premiere is a highlight of the biggest product launch programme in the company’s history. More than 40 new Mercedes-Benz models will make their debut throughout the next two years, including pioneering electric vehicles and technological beacons such as the road-going version of the electric, multi-record breaking CONCEPT AMG GT XX. They demonstrate the very latest design, technology and innovation – combined in every car to give customers the “Welcome home” feeling of Mercedes-Benz.

Since the invention of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz has been driven by an unwavering determination to succeed and by a spirit of innovation. This endeavour is deeply embedded in the company’s DNA and stands for pioneering power and engineering excellence at the highest level: for 140 years, Mercedes-Benz has been continuously shaping progress and mobility. In every decade, automotive icons provide answers to the challenges of their time, setting standards and repeatedly redefining individual mobility. This has resulted in innovations with a clear focus on people and their needs – opening new possibilities in comfort, safety, efficiency, performance and sportiness. The result is technically excellent products that inspire the future of the industry, bring brand values to life and foster a sense of belonging to the brand’s global community.

On 29 January 1886, Carl Benz applied for a patent for his three-wheeled motor car. Patent DRP 37435 for the “gas-powered vehicle” is widely regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile. It is now part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register and marks the beginning of modern individual mobility. Carl’s wife, Bertha, supported him from the very beginning. In 1888, she undertook the world’s first long-distance journey in an automobile – a milestone. Almost at the same as Carl Benz in 1886, Gottlieb Daimler installed the high-speed combustion engine he had developed together with Wilhelm Maybach, in a carriage. This is how the first four-wheeled automobile was created.

140 years ago, Benz and Daimler invented their automobiles in a productive environment where the time was ripe for groundbreaking mobility innovations. They never met personally and worked independently of each other, although only around 130 kilometres apart. Both were shaped by a regional, south-west German self-image and an attitude that consistently focused on quality and competence. Carl Benz was one of the early academically trained engineers in Germany, and the talented Gottlieb Daimler followed a similar path thanks to public scholarships – both thus embodying a modern German image of engineering that achieved world renown through a high level of training and innovative strength. Whether in Carl Benz’s workshop in Mannheim or in Gottlieb Daimler’s garden house in Cannstatt, this early phase stands for start-up spirit, unconventional solutions, high standards and the courage to take entrepreneurial risks with visionary ideas.

In 1926, Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft merged to form Daimler-Benz AG. The Mercedes-Benz brand had already been registered in 1925 in the course of preparations for the merger. Guided by the famous star logo, the company drove forward the triumphant advance of the automobile with pioneering technology that was always perfectly attuned to the needs of the times – from axle pivot steering for precise cornering to the supercharged vehicles of the 1920s and 1930s, numerous safety innovations since the 1950s to today’s digital systems such as MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO and MB.OS. This continuous chain of innovation has shaped not only the company’s own products and the automotive industry, but also society and mobility culture – making the brand’s history a factor for the future: “Heritage Creates Future”. Building on this foundation, development continues apace: new technologies are already in the starting blocks.

The will to compete is another expression of the innovative culture at Mercedes-Benz – and also part of the brand’s DNA. It shapes the pursuit for the best technical solution as well as the company’s commitment to motorsport. The tradition ranges from dominance in the first automobile competition in 1894 through the triumph of the first Mercedes at the 1901 Racing Week in Nice, to the victories of the S-series supercharged touring sports cars from the late 1920s and the heyday of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows in Grand Prix racing in the 1930s and 1950s. Since 1988 and continuing to this day, Mercedes-Benz has once again been continuously successful in top-level motorsport – a commitment that sets new benchmarks and serves at the same time as a technological laboratory: the drive to prove oneself in competition inspires ideas and solutions for production vehicles. In this way, motorsport comes together with the development of cars suitable for everyday use.

For more than 140 years, inventive spirit, a commitment to quality and a culture of innovation have carried Mercedes-Benz to the forefront of automotive development. Today’s Mercedes-Benz innovations take this heritage into the future – as a brand that understands progress as a guiding principle, focuses on the needs of people and society, and continually redefines individual mobility.