AM General, best known as a supplier of the Humvee to the military, has some experience as an automotive contract assembler.
AM General, operating as Mercedes-Benz’s first and only contract manufacturer in the United States, rolled a Mercedes-Benz R-Class off the line at commercial vehicle assembly plant in Mishawaka, Indiana today. The R-Class crossover, currently sold only in China, is moving from Mercedes-Benz’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant to AM General’s 675,000 square-foot Commercial Assembly Plant.
The R-Class, offered exclusively in China since 2013 as a long version with six or seven seats, continues to be popular with Chinese customers. Over time, the move is expected to create more than 200 jobs at AM General. Mercedes-Benz production released from Alabama in this process, will then be used for the M-Class, the GL-Class and the new GLE Coupé, which is about to go on sale.
AM General, best known as a supplier of the Humvee to the military, has some experience as an automotive contract assembler and original equipment manufacturer. Commercial vehicle contract assembly initiatives include joint venture work with General Motors on the now defunct Hummer.
“We have found the ideal partner for this project with AM General. As a production specialist, AM General reliably fulfills the high requirements in terms of processes and especially quality, which globally apply to the production of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars,” said Jason Hoff, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International.
“Within our growth strategy we are expanding our global production network and will additionally use the capacities of a contract manufacturer. We are thus increasing flexibility and continue to improve our competitiveness,” says Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management.
Mercedes-Benz expects additional sales momentum in 2015 from this product offensive.
During 2015, almost the entire MB SUV portfolio will be renewed: the M-Class and the GL-Class will receive a facelift. The previous model designations will then be replaced by GLE-Class and GLS-Class, respectively.
“With the introduction of the new GLE Coupé and the ongoing strong demand for SUVs, Tuscaloosa needs all available production capacities for this segment,”said Huff. Production capacity of the Tuscaloosa plant is planned to reach more than 300,000 units this year.
In addition to the SUV models, Tuscaloosa has been producing the new C-Class sedan since June 2014 – as one of four global locations in a production network with the lead plant in Bremen, Germany, the South African plant in East London, and the Chinese production location Beijing Benz Automotive Co (BBAC) that Daimler took from Chrysler when it sold the company. FCA the current owner is still scrambling to establsh a plant in China to replace what was Beijing Jeep.
“Starting in the U.S. with production of one model in 1997 to four models today and soon to be five models in 2015, we are proud that our plant here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama continues to grow and change – always embodying our tradition of producing best in class vehicles,” Hoff said.
