What year was the first successful car invented?

There's no single answer to the question of when the first successful car was invented, as it depends on your definition of "successful" and "car." Different inventors created self-propelled vehicles at roughly the same time, and it took many years for the technology to mature.

However, Karl Benz's Patent-Motorwagen from 1886 is generally considered by many to be the first practical automobile. While others had built self-propelled vehicles before, Benz's was the first to be commercially viable and influential in the development of the automobile as we know it.