First Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake rolls off production line in Kecskemét
The Kecskemét Mercedes-Benz plant has added the third model to its production portfolio. The CLA Shooting Brake is the second model series to be produced exclusively in Hungary.
Less than three years after its opening, Mercedes-Benz's youngest plant in Kecskemét, Hungary, has passed another important milestone. With the official start of production of the Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake, the second model series to be exclusively produced in Kecskemét after the Mercedes-Benz CLA is now rolling off the production line.
Plant manager Thomas Geier and his team welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, to celebrate the launch of production.
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| CLA Shooting Brake: the second model to be made exclusively at the German premium car maker's Hungarian plant |
"The start of production of the new CLA Shooting Brake marks the fifth successful ramp-up for our new generation of compact cars in our global production network", said Schäfer.
Around 150,000 B-Class and CLA-Class vehicles were produced in Kecskemét last year, and 300,000 units have rolled off the line at the plant since production started in 2012. In this way, the Hungarian plant makes an important contribution to the growth of a particularly successful compact car segment within its global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Unit sales rose by 24.7 percent to 463,152 A-Class, B-Class, CLA-Class and GL-Class vehicles sold in 2014. Mercedes-Benz has never delivered so many compact vehicles to its customers in a single year. The CLA, which is manufactured exclusively in Kecskemét, has been very successful in its single most important market, the USA, almost doubling unit sales to 27,000 vehicles in 2014.
Overall, Mercedes-Benz sold more cars than ever before last year. The German premium brand sold 1,650,010 vehicles to customers (+12.9 percent), thus posting the fourth record year in a row.
"The team in Kecskemét has proven that 'made by Mercedes-Benz in Kecskemét' is a true success story. From the very start, we have been making top-quality cars in accordance with our global production standards", said Schäfer, who went on to thank all of the plant's Hungarian partners on behalf of the company for their continuous and constructive partnership: "We would not have been able to achieve this success story in Kecskemét without the support of the government, administrative authorities and Hungarian people. We will continue to rely on this good cooperation."
One example of this support is a low-interest export promotion loan totaling 90 million euros, which the company will use to finance further investments at the Kecskemét plant in the future.
Thomas Geier added: "Of course, the entire team at the plant is especially proud of the opportunity to produce the CLA and now the CLA Shooting Brake exclusively for customers around the world. We are aware of the responsibility that comes with it, and will build on our achievements to date with consistent top performance."
To date, investments in the Kecskemét plant total around a billion euros. After spending 800 million euros on the construction of the plant, the company has continued to invest in the facility, last year above all in preparation for the production of the CLA Shooting Brake. This involved the recruiting and intensive training of several new employees, which boosted the number of staffers to almost 4,000 people by the end of 2014.
About the CLA Shooting Brake
The CLA Shooting Brake is initially available with two diesel engines, four petrol engines and the all-wheel drive system 4MATIC and only costs around 600 euros more than the four-door coupé. Order books for the CLA Shooting Brake have been open since January 15, 2015, and the first cars are expected to arrive at European dealerships in March 2015.
Daimler Media/Autopro
