Alabama Mercedes announces massive $1.3 billion expansion to build next

The plant’s workforce now numbers around 3,500.

The new plant will have a more flexible “wedding station” to which the body is brought together with the powertrain.

We remember a time when the smallest Mercedes-Benz model was the brand’s most affordable in the USA – that would have been the 2002 C230 Kompressor SportCoupe hatch with a starting price of just…

Implementation of “state-of-the-art” technologies and “digitization” of production processes are also part of the plan. As for powerplants, they are expected to differ by market, though the Mercedes-Benz version is expected to use its own engines, including diesels. “Alabama is one of the most important states for the automotive production in the US”.

The Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa plant (Mercedes-Benz U.S. worldwide – MBUSI) was the first major automaker to open a passenger vehicle facility in Alabama. Not long ago the producer explained we are going to see a truly premium product that will be a “real Mercedes”. Today, workers there build the GLE SUV, which used to be called the M-Class, as well as the GL-Class SUV, C-Class sedan and GLE Coupe. To date, more than 2.2 million vehicles have rolled off the plant’s line for customers around the world.

Mercedes’ parent company Daimler has an alliance with Renault Nissan, with the two auto giants already sharing technology, production facilities and whole vehicle platforms, so the new pickup simply represents a further expansion of the alliance established back in 2010.

The focus of day-to-day work is on the continuous improvement and refinement of state-of-the-art production methods, which allow future high-tech vehicles to be produced in a way that is efficient, flexible and environmentally friendly, according to the typical Mercedes-Benz quality standards.

Governor Robert Bentley was on hand as officials from Tuscaloosa County’s Industrial Development Authority made the announcement.

It also raises its workforce to approximately 3,800 full-time employees.