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For other uses, see Car (disambiguation).

"Passenger car" and "Automobile" redirect here. For other uses, see Passenger car (disambiguation), Automobile (disambiguation), and Passenger railroad car.

A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat 1-8 people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo.[1][2] There are over 1.6 billion cars in use worldwide as of 2025.

Car
The Ford Model T, produced from 1908 to 1927, is widely credited with being the first mass-affordable automobile, and it remains one of the best-selling cars of all time.
Classification	Vehicle
Industry	Various
Application	Transportation
Fuel source	Petrol Diesel Natural gas Hydrogen Biodiesel Battery Fuel cell Solar cell Hybrids of the above
Powered	Yes
Self-propelled	Yes
Wheels	3–6, most often 4
Axles	2, less commonly 3
Inventor	Carl Benz
Invented	1886 (140 years ago)

The French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first steam-powered road vehicle in 1769, while the Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed and constructed the first internal combustion-powered automobile in 1808. The modern car—a practical, marketable automobile for everyday use—was invented in 1886, when the German inventor Carl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Commercial cars became widely available during the 20th century. The 1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash and the 1908 Ford Model T, both American cars, are widely considered the first mass-produced[3][4] and mass-affordable[5][6][7] cars, respectively. Cars were rapidly adopted in the US, where they replaced horse-drawn carriages.[8] In Europe and other parts of the world, demand for automobiles did not increase until after World War II.[9] In the 21st century, car usage is still increasing rapidly, especially in China, India, and other newly industrialised countries.[10][11]