DaimlerChrysler plans to assemble its flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class in Malaysia next year.
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“We’re planning to start production in the middle of 2007,” a DaimlerChrysler spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires. He declined to elaborate on production volume and sales targets.
The automaker already assembles E-class and C-class models in Malaysia, [and has done so for years]. It also assembles cars in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Dow Jones noted that many auto manufacturers have established local assembly facilities for imported components in South-East Asia to avoid paying high import taxes on fully built-up cars.
DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes division sold 97,200 cars in the Asian-Pacific region in 2005, up 10% on a year earlier, the report noted. Main rivals there are BMW and Lexus brand.
