The Mercedes brand was born in France

The iconic German car brand, Mercedes was named after the daughter of a businessman who lived in the Côte d’Azur at the beginning of the 20^th century.

Emil Jellinek was a successful Austrian businessman based in Nice. He was passionate about racing cars. He enjoyed the German Daimler cars but was frustrated with the slow speeds of just 24kph! He demanded speeds of 40kph.

In 1898 Damlier produced the first four cylinder engine car which could produce speeds of 35kph.

Jellinek used his position to advertise and sell these cars to the wealthy residents of Côte d’Azur and it was agreed that these cars would be called Damlier Mercedes after his daughter Mércédès.