German media reports earlier today said workers at Daimler’s Sindelfingen plant are to ask the company not to send production of its Mercedes-Benz C-Class model to the US, a move said to be under consideration by Daimler in order to reduce costs. Daimler, however, this afternoon told just-auto no decision had yet been made.
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The reports said Daimler management could decide this week to move some production of the next generation C-Class to its Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plant from 2014. The Daimler workers’ council said that would put about 3,000 jobs in Sindelfingen at risk.
Plant Sindelfingen spokeswoman Marianne Ihring said no decision had been made. Asked if such a move was being considered, she said Daimler did not comment on media speculation.
The C-Class line, which includes a saloon, coupe and estate/wagon, is currently built in Sindelfingen and Bremen, as well as in South Africa (both RHD and LHD) and China. South African cars are sold locally and exported to markets such as Japan, Ihring said.
The weak dollar versus the euro has hit German car exporters hard in recent years and making the vehicles in the US would help shield Daimler from currency swings and reduce shipping costs.
Reports from Germany indicate that about 80,000 C-Class vehicles would be made yearly in the US if production is shifted from Sindelfingen.
The C-Class is the most popular Mercedes model sold in the United States. Daimler group sales, including Maybach and Smart, were down 22% to 166,985 units in the January to October period, according to WardsAuto.com.
In September, Stuttgarter Zeitung cited unidentified sources as saying that Mercedes was considering moving C-Class production from Sindelfingen to Vance.
