1844 – Karl Benz, the son of an engine driver, was born on November 25, 1844, in Karlsruhe, Germany.

1871 – Karl Benz establishes his first firm with August Ritter in Mannheim, Germany.

1883 – Karl Benz, along with two new partners, forms Benz & Co., Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik in Mannheim, Germany.

1886 – Karl Benz submits and receives a patented from the Imperial Patent Office for the Mortorwagen – regarded as the first automobile to be gasoline powered.

1886 – July 3, 1886, Karl Benz introduces the first automobile.

1901 – The Honeycomb radiator – closed cooling system – is the first featured in a Mercedes, having a texture design making it highly efficient.

1903 – Karl Benz retires from the company.

1904 – Karl Benz joins the Benz & Cie supervisory board.

1906 – Electric-powered vehicles become available – passenger cars, buses, trucks and fire services vehicles – with electric propulsion.

1910 – Multivalve engine improves both fuel consumption and performance with the first Benz Special Tour Car to employ four valves per cylinder.

1921 – Mercedes increases power of several cars with a supercharged engine – achieved by pressurizing the fuel-air mixture.

1926 – Karl Benz joins the Mercedes-Benz Group AG supervisory board and the company Daimler-Benz is formed.

1929 – Karl Benz dies.

1931 – Mercedes 170 features the first 4-wheel independent suspension allowing each wheel to respond independently. A new hydraulic braking system sets new safety benchmarks and higher performance for the Mercedes 170.

1936 – The 260D is the first diesel passenger automobile, using 30% less fuel than the gasoline counterparts.

1939 – Research begins for passenger-car safety development. The test vehicle has a highly rigid floor, collapsible steering column and side-impact protection.

1949 – First of its kind, and strictly designed to prevent doors opening during an accident, the conical-pin door lock is patented.

1951 – Bela Barenyi’s research results in the crumple zone – series production: 1959 – patent for the first safety automobile bodies having defined reformation zones and a rigid passenger cell, a universally used concept of present day.

1958 – Rigorous crash testing is performed on every newly developed Mercedes.

1963 – Mercedes offers its first SL with an automatic transmission. Having no pushbutton release, the all four forward gears is still the current industry standard.

1967 – A separate high performance division is created – Mercedes-AMG – manufacturing the 300SEL 6.3 V8 Saloon known as the “Red Sow”.

1973 – Offset frontal crash testing simulates a more realistic concentration of those in real-world collisions.

1978 – Mercedes implements antilock braking systems – ABS.

1982 – The compact 190-Class debuts a breakthrough 5-arm rear multilink suspension.

1985 – 4MATIC all-wheel drive is debuted on the Mercedes AWD E-Class.

1991 – Mercedes removes environmentally harmful CFC chemicals from all vehicles’ air conditioning systems making them eco-friendly.

1992 – Mercedes get more rapid and precise control with a Controller Area Network – CAN – electronic breakthrough.

1995 – ESP® – Electronic Stability Program – helps maintain control in evasive maneuvers and corners. ESP® is now required on all cars by law.

1997 – New Mercedes-Benz car owners get the convenience of the SmartKey and antitheft prevention all in one. An electronic code is used to unlock and start the engine.

2000 – Tele Aid is introduced – later becoming enhanced under mbrace® – providing enhanced security, navigation connects drivers to Mercedes-Benz customer assistance via a computer, smartphone or from three buttons inside the car cabin.