Is Mercedes-Benz Taking Notes From BMW's and AUDI's Playbook?

Years ago when BMW decided to built the Spartanburg plant in the Carolinas, it was another one of those purists debates. You know, one of those "Rawr! ALL BMW's should only be made in Germany," kind of things.

Now it seems that other manufacturers are learning a thing or two from BMW and plan to move or increase production in the U.S. Take, for example, Audi who is planning on building a U.S. factory. My guess is that it would like to produce cars like the Q3, Q5 and Q7 here, with the possibility of eventually building the A4 stateside.

Now Mercedes-Benz is getting in on the act saying it plans to invest upwards of $2 billion in Alabama to build the C-Class, R-Class and G-Class right here in the U-S-of A.

The reason is simple -- supply chain. This move would shorten lead times for high volume models that sell particularly well in the U.S. market. This makes an excellent business case.

BUT, do you have any concerns? Does this move dilute the brands or is it really NOT going to have an impact on your thoughts of a brand?


Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, said it plans to invest more than $2 billion to upgrade and retool its U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in order to begin building the C-Class (from 2014) as well as the new generations of the R-Class and the G-Class models.

The latest announcement comes as Mercedes-Benz is engaged in a fierce battle with BMW for the top spot in the luxury car segment in the States, after 11 years of Lexus’ dominance in the market...