Mercedes-Benz begins production of long-wheelbase C-class in China

Mercedes-Benz, for the first time, has started production of a long-wheelbase version of the C-class, less than six months after the start of production of the new sedan in Bremen, Germany. The car rolled off its production line at Beijing Benz Automotive Co Ltd. (BBAC) in China yesterday. The model, which has a wheelbase that is an extra 8 centimetres long and will be launched in China starting this September, is an important addition to Mercedes-Benz’ portfolio and marks another key milestone in Daimler’s China strategy.

“The C-class is at the core of our development in China. With more than 150,000 vehicles of the predecessor model delivered to customers, China has already become the second-largest market for the C-class,” said Hubertus Troska, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for China. “Now we are taking the next step: designed and developed for China, produced exclusively in China, our all-new long-wheelbase C-class is destined to become one of our top growth drivers here.”

Frank Deiss, president and CEO of BBAC: “Given its production in four plants on four continents, the C-class sedan is our most global model. As a part of Mercedes-Benz’ global production network, we are committed to deliver ‘The best or nothing’ – in Beijing, like elsewhere. This has always been a driving factor of our great success in the past, and will continue to be so in the future.”

Markus Schäfer, Divisional Board Member Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management, added: “The start of the C-class’ production in Beijing marks the final jigsaw piece in creating a flexible and highly efficient production network on four continents. Such a global ramp up within less than six month is unparalleled in the premium segment so far.”

The Bremen plant, in its capacity as the so-called lead plant, is guiding the global production of the C-class – from the tooling strategy to training of workers from international plants to production quality. In total, some 500 employees from international plants in East London/South Africa, Tuscaloosa/USA, and Beijing/China completed intensive training in Germany in order to pass on their knowledge as multipliers in their respective home plants - among them more than 150 from Beijing.

BBAC, a JV between Daimler and Chinese partner BAIC Motor, has been producing Mercedes-Benz passenger cars since 2006 and engines since 2013. Last year, around 120,000 vehicles rolled off production lines at BBAC, accounting for approximately one-half of Mercedes-Benz’ total sales volume in China.

Both partners are jointly investing €4 billion (Rs 32,268 crore) in BBAC through 2015, of which €1 billion (Rs 8,067 crore) alone was used for the expansion of local car and engine production capacity.

As a result, amongst others the existing production capacities at BBAC for the C-class, the E-class and the GLK-class will be more than doubled to over 200,000 annually by 2015 – which by then will include the compact GLA, which will go into production at BBAC next year.

The Mercedes-Benz 4- and 6-cylinder engines produced at BBAC's engine plant are used in locally produced cars from BBAC and vans that are built by Daimler’s local joint venture Fujian Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (FBAC). The production line was designed with flexibility in mind, with an annual capacity of 250,000 units for the first phase.

About €90 million (Rs 726 crore) have been invested into the new BBAC R&D site that became fully operational recently, making it the largest of Daimler’s joint venture R&D centres in the world, doing component and vehicle testing and supporting all production tests as well as future localisation. It will house a cross-functional team of about 700 employees from R&D, quality management and purchasing.

Photograph (R-L): Frank Deiss, president and CEO of BBAC, Hubertus Troska, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for China, Xu Heyi, chairman of BAIC Group, and Chen Hongliang, senior EVP of BBAC.