Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205 – Official production commences
Mercedes-Benz has officially commenced full series production of the all-new fourth-generation W205 C-Class at the company’s plant in Bremen, one of four global production hubs for the new model together with East London (South Africa), Beijing (China) and Tuscaloosa (USA).
Total investment in the production of the new C-Class for this year and next amounts to €2 billion, with more than half that amount going to the Bremen plant, which will serve the global centre of competence for the C-Class, coordinating worldwide production of the new model.
Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said that “Within just six months we will have ramped up production in four C-Class plants on four continents. With this, we are leading the way – a further milestone in our Mercedes-Benz 2020 growth strategy.”
All aspects of the production ramp-up are controlled from Bremen, from the tooling strategy and the training of colleagues at the other sites to product quality. The company is thereby ensuring that the highest quality standards are met at all production sites right from the outset. When it arrives in Malaysia, the W205 will likely be locally-assembled with CKD packs sourced from the Bremen plant.
Describing the intensive coordination between the four plants in preparation of full production, Wilfried Porth, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Human Resources and Director of Labor Relations & Mercedes-Benz Vans, said, “Alongside their colleagues from Bremen, around 300 employees from the international also underwent intensive training in order to pass on their detailed know-how in Tuscaloosa, East London and Beijing.”
All employees completed extensive skills training to prepare for the start-up. Courses took place at the pilot plant in Sindelfingen, at the training center in Bremen, and on-site at the production line.
Mercedes-Benz claims that the new W205 C-Class incorporates 50% higher aluminium composition in its body structure than the outgoing W204, contributing to significantly improved corrosion protection. This major change in the body-in-white’s material composition requires the use of new manufacturing technologies and process monitoring facilities.
Besides new manufacturing techniques, Mercedes also sought to cut energy consumption from its manufacturing process; the company claims that the new C-Class uses 30% less energy per vehicle built by means of optimizing building engineering, painting technology, and even ergonomics for staff manning the production lines.
The W205 C-Class officially went on sale in Europe last December with prices ranging between €33,558 and €38,858 (prices in Germany incl. 19% VAT). Models available at launch included the C 180, C 200, and the diesel-powered C 220 BlueTEC.
KON
Pictures: Official Daimler-Benz release.
