On 10 September 1959 Mercedes-Benz began systematic crash testing at its plant in Sindelfingen. The first test car was a pre-production vehicle of the coming W 110 series. The movements of the dummy were filmed for analysis.
Today a new model may need up to 15,000 crash simulations and about 150 real crash tests. Its crash test center conducts about 900 crash tests and about 1,700 sled tests each year.