The C-Class is Mercedes-Benz's biggest seller Stateside, and a report in a Stuttgart newspaper indicates the company could be looking to stabilize the revenue from its bread-and-butter sedan. The C-Class is currently produced in Sindelfingen, Germany, and that makes it prey to currency swings on the trip across the pond. If Mercedes transferred production to its plant in Vance, Alabama, the company would also pay lower labor costs than it does in Europe.A German labor representative said that if such a move were to come, he would expect Mercedes to have a plan to save the 3,000 jobs that would be jeopardized at Sindelfingen, and protect production at Bremen as well. If Mercedes does move the C-Class here, it would become the first of the German players to build its highest volume car in the States.
The Alabama plant currently makes the M, GL, and R-Class vehicles. In March of this year, Mercedes allotted $290 million to expand the facility but didn't name any vehicle that would be added there, only saying it would be "future product." The German report mentioned that Mercedes could move some SL production from Bremen to Sindelfingen to make up for the shift, but a Mercedes spokesman said there is nothing in the works and nothing to comment on at the moment.
