140 Years of Innovation

13 August, 2026

*The Benz Patent‑Motorwagen.

140 YEARS OF INNOVATION.

The Invention That Changed the World.

In 1886, Carl Benz changed the course of history when he filed a patent for his three-wheeled Motorwagen. Patent DRP 37435, registered on 29 January, is widely regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile and marked the beginning of a new era of individual mobility.

What followed was far more than the development of a new means of transport. The automobile transformed the way people lived, worked, travelled and connected, reshaping how we experience the world around us.

From those earliest beginnings, innovation has remained at the heart of the Mercedes-Benz story. In 1900, the Mercedes 35 hp helped establish the basic architecture of the modern automobile, moving decisively away from traditional carriage design. In the decades that followed, Mercedes-Benz continued to introduce technology that would influence the wider automotive industry.

Safety has long been central to the brand’s engineering, driving the development of technologies designed to better protect drivers and passengers. Mercedes-Benz engineer Béla Barényi pioneered the safety body with defined crumple zones and a rigid passenger cell, introduced in production in 1959.

Further innovations followed, including the electronically controlled Anti-lock Braking System in 1978, the driver airbag in a production vehicle in 1981, and the Electronic Stability Programme in 1995.

Even in the first automobile, comfort was a conscious choice. The Benz Patent‑Motorwagen featured sprung leather upholstery and solid rubber tyres to soften rough roads from the outset.

In 1902, the Mercedes Simplex 40 PS changed the world of mobility forever. The suffix “Simplex” was intended to indicate how easy the new model was to operate for its time.

Rare, powerful, and ravishing. Only 29 units of the 500 K Special Roadster were ever built. A supercharged eight-cylinder legend that defined the international luxury class in the 1930s.

With the 1954 300 SL Coupé, or “Gullwing”, Mercedes-Benz introduced the world’s first production passenger car with a four-stroke engine featuring direct fuel injection, boosting power by around 25 per cent.

INSPIRING PROGRESS. EVOLVING ALWAYS.

Discover the next generation of Mercedes-Benz.

Today, that same drive to innovate can be seen in the all-new electric GLC, now available to order in New Zealand.

*Overseas model shown.

The GLC 400 4MATIC combines a 360 kW electric drivetrain with 800-volt charging technology, advanced digital systems and the everyday versatility of the GLC.*

Its DC fast-charging capability can take the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in around 22 minutes, meaning less time waiting and more time exploring the road.*

From Carl Benz’s pioneering Motorwagen to the intelligent electric vehicles of today, 140 years of progress began with one idea: finding a better way to move.