Mercedes-Benz R-Class moves out of Alabama - AL.com
Production of the Mercedes-Benz R-Class officially kicked off today at a contract manufacturer in Indiana, marking the end of the luxury crossover's run at the German automaker's Alabama plant. The company is Mercedes' first contract manufacturer in the U. S. The move was announced earlier this year as a way for the Alabama plant to free up production space for other models, including the GLE-Class (formerly M-Class), GL-Class, GLE Coupe... "We take the needs of our Chinese customers seriously and, therefore, continue to produce the R-Class, which is very popular in China," Jason Hoff, head of Mercedes' Alabama operations, said in a prepared statement. As a production specialist, AM General reliably fulfills the high requirements in terms of processes and especially quality, which globally apply to the production of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. The Tuscaloosa County plant built its last R-Class two weeks ago, a company spokeswoman said. The addition of the R-Class is expected to create more than 200 jobs at AM General, which used to produce General Motors' Hummer H2. The deal with Mercedes is a comeback strategy for the company, which was hurt by the loss of the Hummer H2... Source: www.al.com
