Mercedes-Benz, a Legend Celebrates Its 140th Anniversary

On 29 January 2026, a date that set the world in motion marked its 140th anniversary: 140 years ago, Carl Benz registered his Patent Motorwagen – the ​“birth certificate of the automobile.” Mercedes-Benz uses this milestone not only to look back, but also to define its position for the future. The brand tells its story as a sequence of technological leaps, linking its narrative directly to an industry that now reinvents itself once again.

Mercedes deliberately sets the rhythm for this anniversary year. The celebrations began with the world premiere of the new S‑Class on 29 January (via livestream), followed by a product offensive over the next two years featuring more than 40 new models. The anniversary becomes a stage for a classic Mercedes thesis: progress does not happen in isolated moments, but through systems.

From the Patent Motorwagen to an icon of automotive history

This story inevitably relies on myth as part of its dramaturgy. Bertha Benz’s pioneering long-distance drive in 1888, the improvised hatpin repair to the carburettor – these remain iconic images from an era when mobility still meant adventure and risk. The first ​“Mercedes” in the modern sense, the 35-horsepower model of 1900, then marked the departure from carriage logic: a low centre of gravity, a long wheelbase, a coherent technical concept. In Mercedes terms, this already introduced what today would be called platform thinking.

The line continues over decades, especially wherever innovation turns the car into a protected space. Safety cell construction, crash testing, later ABS and ESP: Mercedes often shaped the industry not only through speed, but through influence, as solutions from the S‑Class became global standards.

Safety, software and new premium standards

In an era where mobility increasingly depends on sensors, assistance systems and digital architecture, the company continues this tradition. Mercedes understands safety as an interaction of mechanics, electronics and data logic – not as a single feature.

At the same time, the very meaning of progress shifts. What once meant supercharger power or motorsport dominance now translates into efficiency, range and charging capability. The VISION EQXX demonstrated in 2022 how far energy consumption and everyday usability can advance in electric mobility. In late summer 2025, an EQS test vehicle equipped with a lithium-metal solid-state battery covered the route from Stuttgart to Malmö: 1,205 kilometres without a charging stop – a clear signal toward the next battery generation.

Electromobility and records: Mercedes accelerates towards the future

Mercedes also rewrites the performance chapter – electric, yet driven by the same brand logic of pushing measurable boundaries. The Concept AMG GT XX covered 5,479 kilometres within 24 hours on the Nardò test track in August 2025, setting a series of long-distance records. Extreme technology aims to become credible in future production models.

This present moment also includes the new CLA, which received an award from the European ​“Car of the Year” jury in early January 2026. Mercedes interprets the honour as confirmation of a strategy that combines electric mobility with digital software layers: new drivetrains, new user experiences, new relevance.

Perhaps that defines these 140 years: Mercedes-Benz sees the automobile as the sum of disciplines – engineering, design, comfort, status, culture. 140 years after the first patent, its history feels less like a museum tour than a continuous stress test: can a traditional brand keep pace with a radically new world of mobility without losing its aura? Mercedes answers with a dual movement – anchoring itself in heritage while accelerating forward.

Or, in one sentence: the future never ends.

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