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<P class=MsoNormal>Currently, Mercedes-Benz’s facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, builds the ML, GL, and R-class models, and GL sport utilities, but the German automaker is reportedly investigating building the C-class sedan there to help save costs.
<P class=MsoNormal target=”_blank”>Presently, the C-class is built in Sindelfingen and Bremen, Germany, but building cars for America in America could help save Daimler approximately €64 million (about $95 million). Much of the cost savings stems from the high wage disparity between U.S. and German factory employees. Tuscaloosa workers make an average of $44 an hour, while employees in Sindelfingen rake in approximately $74 an hour. Building the C-class here would help Daimler save on import duties and freight costs, as well as avoid swings in the value of the U.S. dollar against the Euro.
<P class=MsoNormal target=”_blank”>If some C-class volume is transferred to the U.S, approximately 80,000 units could roll off the Tuscaloosa line annually, essentially serving as a replacement for Sindelfingen. For now, Daimler has not made any decision on future C-class production.
<P class=MsoNormal target=”_blank”>Source: Stuttgart Zeitung
I stand corrected…I said the 2011 Sonata would be my next car…if Daimler ends up building the C-Class in the US I would buy one. Buy American; Buy Japanese/German!
$74 an hour versus $44? yeah, that’s definitely one big savings!