500,000th Mercedes-Benz passenger car rolls off production line in Beijing

The 500,000^th locally produced Mercedes-Benz passenger car, an all-new long-wheelbase C-class model, has rolled off the production lines at Daimler’s Sino-German production joint-venture Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC), marking yet another milestone in Mercedes-Benz’s increasing local footprint in China. About half of these vehicles have been manufactured just within the last two years, highlighting the rapid growth that the production site has recently experienced.

“Continuous investment in localization is one of our key growth drivers for Mercedes-Benz’s future in China, and it is clear proof of our confidence in and dedication to this strategically important market,” says Hubertus Troska, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Greater China. “Going forward, we are determined to pick up the pace even more as we just signed a one billion euro agreement with our partner for the localization of further compact car models. BBAC is undoubtedly on its path to become the largest Mercedes-Benz passenger car plant worldwide.”

BBAC, a joint venture between Daimler and its Chinese partner BAIC Motor, has produced ‘cars with the star’ since 2006 and engines since 2013. Last year, around 120,000 vehicles rolled off the Beijing-based production lines, accounting for approximately one-half of Mercedes-Benz’s total sales volume in China. This figure is expected to grow significantly by the end of next year, based on production capacities reaching well beyond 200,000 units. The all-new long-wheelbase C-class will significantly contribute to this in its first full-year after its launch this August, and the localized GLA compact SUV will, from early 2015 on, support as an additional growth driver. The constant growth of BBAC is backed by strong funding: the two shareholders are jointly investing €4 billion in the company through 2015.

About €400 million (Rs 3,061 crore) has been spent solely on the first ever Mercedes-Benz passenger car engine plant outside of Germany. Inaugurated about a year ago, it marks another important milestone in Mercedes-Benz’s localization strategy. The top-notch facility produces 4- and 6-cylinder engines for locally produced passenger cars and vans built by Daimler’s local joint venture Fujian Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (FBAC). The production line has been designed for flexibility, with an annual capacity of 250,000 units for the first phase. Higher numbers will be planned in line with the ongoing growth in unit sales.

“Built in China, for China – this philosophy has been the vital driving factor of our success in the past, and will continue to be so in the future. Reaching the half-million mark is just our latest achievement, and we certainly won’t stop there,” explains Frank Deiss, President and CEO of BBAC. “Obviously we have followed, as part of Mercedes-Benz’s global production network, our worldwide acknowledged standards and processes for each and every one of these units, to deliver our customers the best products.”

This summer BBAC again underlined its ambition to build in China, for China, with the inauguration of an all-new R&D Center, the largest of Daimler’s joint venture R&D centres in the world. A team of about 180 experts is working on vehicle-related series projects, component and vehicle testing and supporting all production tests as well as localization. The facility has various test laboratories and benches, such as for engines, emissions, and climate & corrosion, and a proving ground. An endurance and analysis workshop is also on-site, as are laboratories for the quality teams. In Mercedes-Benz’s first prototype workshop outside Germany, offline try outs for homologation, training, and fitment tests are prepared.