start of production of mercedes-benz c-class in south africa - press release

Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart, Germany

Mercedes-Benz – A Daimler Brand

Second C-Class plant starts production

Start of Production of New Mercedes-Benz C-Class in

South Africa

East London plant starts production as the second location in the •

global C-Class production network

Fourth C-Class generation already at the East London plant •

Markus Schäfer: "We are ramping up our C-Class production as •

planned with the start of production in South Africa."

East London, South Africa / Stuttgart, Germany – About three months

after the start of production of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class at the

Bremen plant in Germany, the second of the total of four locations started

production of the highest volume Mercedes-Benz model line: For the East

London plant, this is already the fourth generation of the C-Class. The

new Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan is the first Mercedes-Benz model to

be produced on four continents: Bremen and East London will be followed

by the plants in Tuscaloosa/Alabama (USA) and Beijing (China) within the

next months.

Markus Schäfer, Divisional Board Member Mercedes-Benz Cars,

Production and Supply Chain Management: "We are ramping up our C-

Class production as planned with the start of production in South Africa.

Our youngest model is received very well by customers around the globe.

The additional production capacities in East London are thus available at

the right time to optimally serve the wishes of our customers."

The Bremen plant, in its capacity as the so-called lead plant, is controlling

global production of the C-Class – from the tooling strategy to the training

of the colleages from the international plants to production quality. With

this, the company ensures top quality at all production sites from the

outset. In total, some 500 employees from the international plants -

Press Information

15 May 2014



among them more than 200 from East London - completed intensive

training also in Germany in order to pass on their knowledge as

multipliers in their respective home plants.

Arno van der Merwe, CEO and Vice President Manufacturing Mercedes-

Benz South Africa: "The new C-Class marks another milestone for

Mercedes-Benz in South Africa and for the East London plant. We have

created 550 new jobs at the plant and have also made significant

investments for the qualification of our staff. This goes especially with

regard to the host of innovative manufacturing technologies which have

been introduced at the plant for the first time with the new C-Class. We

are thus optimally prepared to write the next chapter of our 'made by

Mercedes-Benz in South Africa' success story".

About the Mercedes-Benz East London plant

Mercedes-Benz has had a presence in South Africa since 1954 and

acquired majority ownership of the East London plant in 1984. The new

C-Class marks the fourth vehicle generation of the highest volume

Mercedes-Benz model line to be manufactured in South Africa's Eastern

Cape. Since the year 2000 the plant exported sedans to right-hand-drive

markets, since 2007 also left-hand-drive vehicles for export to the USA.

The East London plant's excellent production quality has repeatedly won

national as well as international recognition, most recently with the 2013

J.D. Power Plant Quality Silver Award, placing it among the best plants in

the Europe/Africa region for the fifth consecutive year. In 2013 about

2,700 employees manufactured more than 50,000 C-Class sedans. As of

2014 the plant produces the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class as one of four

global locations in a production network with the German lead plant in

Bremen, the U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and the Chinese

production site Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC).

Contact:

Sofia Stauber, +49 (0) 711 17-40598, [email protected]

Sebastian Wahle, +49 (0) 711 17-41264, [email protected]

Further information about Mercedes-Benz is available online:

www.media.daimler.com and www.mercedes-benz.com



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