Emil Jellinek’s business activities became so profitable that he moved to Nice. There he bought himself his first vehicle, a Dion-Bouton tricycle. This was followed by a three-wheeled Léon-Bollée Voiturette, which was subsequently replaced by a four-seater Benz carriage. A newspaper article drew Jellinek’s attention to Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and in 1897 he travelled to Cannstatt to visit the Daimler factory. Here he ordered his first Daimler car, a 6 hp belt-driven model with a two-cylinder engine, which was delivered to him in October 1897. However, Jellinek soon found that the car’s top speed of 24 km/h was not enough. He wanted 40 km/h and ordered two more cars: the Daimler Phoenix cars with front-mounted 8 hp engines supplied to him in September 1898 were the world’s first road vehicles with four-cylinder engines.

Emil Jellinek, who had a large residence in Nice and enjoyed good relations with international financiers and aristocrats, became increasingly active as a car dealer from 1898, promoting and selling Daimler vehicles to the top echelons of society. In 1899 alone DMG supplied ten cars to Jellinek. Jellinek demanded ever faster and more powerful cars from DMG. He entered these in racing events – first and foremost the Week of Nice. He had the habit of racing under a pseudonym, using his daughter’s name. The resulting successes made the name "Mercedes“ the hot topic of conversation in motoring circles.