Brazil seems to be the new hotspot for the automotive industry, especially for luxury car manufacturers. Following Audi’s announcement last month that it will build a plant in the South American country to build the A3 Sedan and Q3 SUV from 2015, Daimler has announced an investment of around €170 million in a new production facility for Mercedes-Benz Cars.
As early as 2016, the new plant in Iracemapolis near Sao Paulo will manufacture the next-generation C-Class and the GLA crossover for the local market. Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff and Mercedes-Benz officials jointly signed the the framework contract on October 1.
Estimated production of the assembly plant is up to 20,000 vehicles a year, with 1,000 new jobs to be created in the new facility. Furthermore, 3,000 new jobs are estimated to be created for suppliers of the factory.
“With the next generation of the C-Class and the GLA, we will be localizing two highly attractive products with top Mercedes quality, for which we see great potential in the Brazilian premium segment,” said Andreas Renschler, Management Board member for Production and Procurement at Mercedes-Benz Cars and Vans.
The new automobile plant will add to Daimler’s Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais factories, which build trucks, buses and vans. Mercedes-Benz Brazil will soon complete the purchase of land for the future plant premises in Iracemapolis near Sao Paulo, in order for the building preparations to begin.
By Dan Mihalascu
