Mercedes-Benz is the latest in a growing list of automakers to make recent announcements about moving more production to the U.S. CEO Ola Källenius has confirmed that Mercedes will build its popular GLC-Class compact crossover in the U.S., just days after the automaker said it planned to build a “core segment” vehicle here.
- Base Trim Engine
-
2L I4 Hybrid
- Base Trim Transmission
-
9-speed automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
-
All-Wheel Drive
Källenius made the confirmation during a recent media roundtable, where he also said Mercedes would invest in expanding its U.S. commercial van plant, Automotive News reported. Mercedes’ U.S. production footprint currently includes a plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for passenger vehicles and a plant in Charleston, South Carolina, for commercial vehicles, namely the Sprinter full-size van.
Midsize Van Possibly Also Planned For U.S.
According to Källenius, the investment in the van plant will enable what he described as a “whole new class” of vans to be built there, perhaps alluding to the midsize luxury van the automaker plans to sell in the U.S. Mercedes previewed the new luxury van with April’s Vision V concept and is expected to unveil the production model next year.
Production of the GLC-Class will start at the Alabama plant in late 2027, Källenius said. That’s about when the current GLC, which arrived in the U.S. for the 2023 model year, should receive a mid-cycle refresh, suggesting Mercedes will start production in the U.S. with the refreshed version. The automaker is also working on an electric GLC, though that model debuts later this year and enters production in 2026. Mercedes hasn’t said where the electric GLC, to be called a GLC with EQ Technology, will be built.
Related
This Is Your First Look At Mercedes-AMG’s Porsche Taycan Hunter
The sleek fastback is rumored to be an all-electric successor to the AMG GT four-door coupe.
The gas-powered GLC-Class is currently built at a plant in Bremen, Germany, for most markets, including the U.S., where buyers snapped up 64,163 units last year, making it the second most popular model Mercedes sells here, after the midsize GLE-Class. During the media roundtable, Källenius said the automaker wants its vehicles to be built close to where most of them are sold, in order to “react to the marketplace in a quick manner,” Automotive News reported.
The GLE-Class and full-size GLS-Class are already built at the Alabama plant, alongside the EQE SUV and EQS SUV electric vehicles, and those models aren’t going anywhere. The plant has an annual capacity of about 305,000 vehicles, and Jason Hoff, Mercedes’ U.S. chief, has stated that a physical expansion of the plant isn’t required to add the new model.
The Tariff Effect Seems To Be In Play
Moving more production to the U.S. may help Mercedes avoid some of the Trump administration’s new tariffs on autos and related parts, though it isn’t clear how significant the savings will be for the GLC-Class. NHTSA filings show that Mercedes’ existing SUVs assembled in the U.S. contain only about 10 percent domestic parts, meaning the vehicles are still subject to tariffs on parts.
Related
There’s Good News For Mostly American Vehicles
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has been working for weeks to keep the terms of the existing USMCA agreement, and she’s finally succeeded.
While many automakers are taking a wait-and-see approach to tariffs, which are often changing, some are making moves. Nissan is expected to move some production of its top-selling Rogue compact crossover from Japan to the U.S. and may also begin producing a new electric SUV at a U.S. plant. Honda is relocating Civic Hybrid production to the U.S. from Japan, and Stellantis has said it may move production of some pickup trucks from a plant in Mexico to the U.S.
Sources: Mercedes-Benz, Automotive News
#Mercedes #Confirms #BestSeller #America
