Mercedes-Benz has resumed production at its factory in Vitoria after the arrival of a defective set of Bosch injection valves halted output on January 26.
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The DaimlerChrysler unit ‘lost’ 5,000 vehicles during the 20-day break, a spokesman told just-auto. He said the plant, which restarted on Monday, hopes to recover the lost output by the summer.
“We have great worker flexibility in this plant and we are going to do all we can to bring back the production levels as soon as possible,” he said.
Vitoria builds the Vito van and Viano MPV (minivan) derivative for world-wide distribution. It is Mercedes’ biggest factory in Spain and employs over 5,000 people.
Despite the stoppage, Mercedes will meet its target of assembling 90,000 vehicles in Vitoria this year, the spokesman added.
Separately, a Mercedes spokesman said the company is considering suing Bosch for the defective valves, adding that other Mercedes factories have experienced similar problems with faulty Bosch products delivered to assembly lines.
Ivan Castano
