Germany – Daimler’s investment to 2020 will involve an upgrade of facilities at the car plant near Stuttgart as well as the introduction of a new model. The announcement was made after Daimler reached a multi-year agreement with the Works Council on cost reductions.
The main projects at the 99-year-old plant will be the construction of a new bodyshop, paintshop and assembly hall for the new-generation E-Class and its successors. A new logistics centre will also be established, where suppliers and service providers will be responsible for incoming and outgoing goods. The assembly lines will continue to be supplied by Mercedes-Benz personnel.
In addition, Daimler says that the production flexibility of Sindelfingen will increase “significantly” with the conversion of free-shift accounts into two separate working-time accounts: an individual account and a collective account. Overtime will be credited 50:50, and the company’s share can be used to better manage production shifts. According to Daimler, this will be “particularly important” when ramping up new models and phasing out existing models.
“Through the overall package agreed upon with the Works Council, we will make Sindelfingen fit for global competition,” commented Markus Schäfer, head of Production and Supply Chain Management at Mercedes-Benz Cars. He added: “The plants in Germany form the backbone of our global production network.”
Sindelfingen is Daimler’s largest production location worldwide, employing 22,000 people, and currently makes the S-Class sedan (normal and long wheelbase) and the S-Class coupe, plus the sedan and wagon versions of the E-Class, the CLS and the CLS Shooting Brake. The plant will soon start manufacturing the new Mercedes-AMG GT sports car, and three extra versions of the S-Class are planned.
