Mercedes deal bears fruit in Mishawaka - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
MISHAWAKA – Black Mercedes-Benz R-Class SUVs rolled down the AM General assembly line this week, interspersed with white MV-1 wheelchair-accessible vans, as workers began producing vehicles for the German automaker – a scene company officials... The military and commercial vehicle maker announced in January that it had signed a multiyear contract to make Mercedes-Benz R-Class sport utility vehicles. Mike Jackson, director of vehicle production forecasting for the automotive group IHS, said the contract is good for both companies because it allows Mercedes’ plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to focus on higher-volume vehicles such as the new GLE... “I think given the fact that utilization rates in North America remain very high, around the low- to mid-90 percent utilization rate, manufacturers are certainly going to be looking at and evaluating additional opportunities where production work... Glaser said AM General hopes other companies will follow. If you can build a Mercedes in Indiana, you can build anything in this plant,” Glaser said. Jason Hoff, president and CEO of Mercedes manufacturing in the U. S. , said that while the contract with AM General was Mercedes’ first in the U. S. , it has contracts with companies in Finland and Austria to make cars. Source: www.journalgazette.net
