Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury cars, buses and trucks. Currently it is owned by Daimler AG, having previously been owned by Daimler Chrysler and Daimler-Benz.

The company's founder Karl Benz is generally regarded as the inventor of the first petrol-powered automobile in 1886. The other major claimants to that honour were his contemporaries Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. However Benz was the first to patent his work and he astutely went on to patent many of the processes that made the internal combustion engine feasible for use in automobiles, including the accelerator, the spark plug, the clutch, the gear shift, the water radiator and the carburettor! Regardless of who actually made the first the automobile, Benz was the first to sell one in 1888, some four years before anyone else.

The first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicles were produced in 1926, following the merger of Karl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's companies into the Daimler-Benz company.

Since its inception, Mercedes-Benz had a reputation for quality and durability.
The two companies which were merged to form the Mercedes-Benz brand in 1926 had both already enjoyed success in the new sport of motor racing throughout their separate histories- both had entries in the very first automobile race Paris to Rouen 1894. This has continued, and throughout its long history, the company has been involved in a range of motorsport activities, including sportscar racing and rallying. On several occasions Mercedes-Benz has withdrawn completely from motorsport for a significant period, notably in the late 1930s and after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, where a Mercedes-Benz 300SLR collided with another car and killed more than eighty spectators. Although there was some activity in the inteverning years, it was not until 1987 that Mercedes-Benz returned to front line competition, returning to Le Mans, DTM, and F-1 sportscar racing with Sauber.
The 1990s saw Mercedes-Benz purchase engine builder Ilmor, and campaign cars at the famed Indy 500 race under the USAC/CART rules, eventually winning that race with Al Unser, Jr. at the wheel. The 90's also saw the return of Mercedes-Benz to GT racing, and the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, both of which took the company to new heights by dominating the FIA's GT1 class.
Mercedes-Benz is currently active in three forms of motorsport, Formula Three, DTM and Formula One. In Formula One, the company part owns Team McLaren and has supplied the team with engines since 1995. This partnership has brought success, including back to back Drivers Championships for Mika Häkkinen in 1998 and 1999 and a Constructors championship in 1998. The collaboration with McLaren has been extended into the production of roadgoing cars such as the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
In 1958 Mercedes-Benz entered into a distribution agreement with the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (USA), makers of Studebaker and Packard brand automobiles. Under the deal, Studebaker would allow Mercedes-Benz access to their U.S. dealer network, handle shipments of vehicles to those dealers, and in return receive compensation for each car sold. Studebaker also was permitted to use the German automaker's name in its advertisements, which stressed Studebaker's quality over quantity.
When Studebaker entered into informal discussions with Franco-American automaker Facel Vega about offering their Facel Vega Excellence model in the United States, Mercedes-Benz objected to the proposal. Studebaker, which needed Mercedes-Benz distribution payments to help stem heavy losses, dropped further action on the plan.
Mercedes-Benz maintained an office within the Studebaker works in South Bend from 1958 to 1963 when Studebaker's U.S. operations ceased. Many U.S Studebaker dealers converted to Mercedes-Benz dealerships at that time. When Studebaker closed its Canadian operation and left the automobile business in 1966, remaining Studebaker dealers had the option to convert their dealerships to Mercedes-Benz dealership agreements.