Karl Benz’s competitor was Daimler Cars
Gottlieb Benz's rival, Daimler, another German, was a significant rival of Karl Benz's. Five months before Gottlieb created a superior combustion engine and obtained a patent for it, Benz had already patented his engine. The bicycle that gave rise to the first motorcycle was the first automobile in which Benz displayed his invention. All of Benz's supporters contended that his two-wheeled vehicle had less resemblance to the new vehicle than Benz's tricycle. Regardless, Daimler continued to grow as a significant manufacturer of 4-wheeled cars, making it one of Benz's main rivals in the German and French markets.
Gottlieb Daimler created a new car based on Mayback's 1901 design in order to get a larger market share in France. This cutting-edge vehicle was slated to be sold in France, but another business there already had the right to use the Daimler name. The Austrian business partner, Emil Jellinek, worked for Daimler. The current car was given the name Mercedes in honor of Jellinek's daughter to get around the exclusivity of the French licensing for this name. Before his new automobile's nameplate was given that name, Daimler passed away in 1900.
The Daimler Company carried on operating even after Daimler's passing. The economic downturn following World War I was a major cause of the Benz and Daimler enterprises' problems. In 1926, both firms decided to merge to form Mercedes-Benz in order to increase their chances of surviving.
As a result, Benz did not continue to be heavily involved in business affairs even though he had received acclaim for his creation as the father of the automobile. The vehicles owned by Benz were taken by several museums. A special procession of thousands of cars was organized in 1929 to commemorate Benz from the Heidelberg to his home in Ladenburg. An intriguing Karl Benz fact is that during the parade, several well-known individuals gave speeches in his honor and hailed him as the greatest inventor of automobiles. Two days later, on April 4, 1929, he passed away at his Ladenburg home.
