Mercedes to double China car production

CHINA
Mercedes’ big catch-up drive
Mercedes to double China car production
Published: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 21:05:02 GMT
Tweet

GLA, 4th Mercedes model to be built in China

Daimler’s Mercedes prestige car brand, evidently fed up with playing second fiddle to markedly more successful Audi and BMW in China, has last week announced a big catch-up programme.

The significance of China’s profit-rich prestige car market lends a fresh note of urgency to Mercedes’ efforts to sharpen up its future game play in China, which before long it also expects to become its biggest global market.

After lagging behind its upmarket main rivals in China, already the biggest and most significant market
for Audi and BMW, Mercedes has evidently decided to act by saying last week that it plans to double its annual joint-venture car capacity in China to 200,000 units by 2015.

200,000
Mercedes car capacity plans in China by 2015, doubling its annual joint-venture capacity

Evidently wary of potentially volatile local content rules, Mercedes also said that its all new Chinese engine plant, described as its “first fully fledged engine factory outside Germany” is geared up to build eventually up to 250,000 engines per year.

Production first went underway this May, building both 4- and 6-cylinder engines for the cars and vans built at its Chinese joint-venture plant.

Eventually, the company said, it also plans to export key engine components to Mercedes plants outside China...more

MORE LIKE THIS:

First wobble in BRIC pillars of strength 03 Sep 2013

Crossovers - Universal global bright spot 02 Aug 2013

China turns into JLR ace card 04 Jul 2013

To continue reading this article, please register for a free sample without obligation...

Please note that eagleAID.com is a subscriber-only site, and as such it can only be viewed by subscribers to the newsletter.