Benz begins to sell the vehicle (advertising…

Benz begins to sell the vehicle (advertising it as "Benz Patent Motorwagen") in the late summer of 1888, making it the first commercially available automobile in history.

The second customer of the Motorwagen is a Parisian bicycle manufacturer, Emile Roger, who has already been building Benz engines under license from Karl Benz for several years.

Roger adds the Benz automobiles (many built in France) to the line he carries in Paris and initially most will be sold there.

The early 1888 version of the Motorwagen has only two gears and can not climb hills unaided.

This limitation will be rectified after Bertha Benz makes her famous trip driving one of the vehicles a great distance and suggests to her husband the addition of a third gear for climbing hills.

In the course of this trip she will also invent brake pads.