About three months after the start of production of the fourth generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class at the Bremen plant in Germany, the East London plant in South Africa has commenced output.
This is the first Merc to be produced on four continents: Bremen and East London will be followed by Tuscaloosa/Alabama (USA) and Beijing (China) within months.
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Bremen, as lead plant, is controlling global production of the C-Class – from the tooling strategy to worker training and quality. About 500 employees from the international plants – 200 from East London – completed intensive training in Germany in order to pass on their knowledge in their respective home plants.
Arno van der Merwe, CEO and head of manufacturing at Mercedes-Benz South Africa, said: “The new C-Class marks another milestone for Mercedes-Benz in South Africa and for the East London plant. We have created 550 new jobs at the plant and have also made significant investments for the qualification of our staff.”
Mercedes-Benz has been in South Africa since 1954 and acquired majority ownership of the East London plant in 1984. The latest C-Class is the fourth generation to be made in Eastern Cape. Right hand drive exports began in 2000 and LHD for the US in 2007.
In 2013 about 2,700 workers made around 50,000 C-Class sedans.
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