Seven years after ending first generation A-class production there, Daimler is considering building compact models again in Brazil, German media reports said.
The consideration is due to “sustained stable sales” in the region, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz marketing chief, Philipp Schiemer, was quoted as telling Handelsblatt, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
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A Mercedes-Benz spokesman declined to comment on the report to Dow Jones.
Last week, Daimler’s chief executive Dieter Zetsche said local production in foreign markets was gaining increased importance.
“We will make substantial investments in our future this year – in new products, new technology and new markets,” Zetsche said last week.
In 2005, the company ceased A-class production at a factory built specially in the late 1990s for the model in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, due to weak demand.
The factory continued to assemble some cars, including C-class sedans for the US, and, most recently, three-door, C-class hatchbacks, from CKD kits shipped from Germany.
