 Benz began 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 was a Parisian bicycle manufacturer Emile Roger, who had already been building Benz engines under license from Karl Benz for several years.Roger added the Benz automobiles (many built in France) to the line he carried in Paris and initially most were sold there.