Mercedes-Benz starts production of new S-class at the Sindelfingen Plant

Some 40 years after the S-class made its debut, employees at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant have produced the first customer vehicle in what is now the sixth-generation of this model series.

"2013 is the year of the S-class. We are driving forward our
model offensive in the luxury segment. The new S-class is opening up additional opportunities for us in the market," said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Andreas Renschler, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Manufacturing and Procurement Mercedes-Benz Cars & Mercedes-Benz Vans, added, "The S-class, with its many innovations, is the standard-bearer of automotive progress. And our productionis breaking the mould: we made it fit for the future by implementing numerousnew processes for manufacturing the S-class."

All variants are produced in an efficient and flexible process on one assembly line. And the range of optional extras is so varied that it is unlikely any S-class will be entirely identical to another over the lifecycle of the vehicle.

This year alone Daimler has invested around €1-billion in the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant. This includes a significant outlay on the new S-class, for which - between 2011 to 2014 - around €350-million is being invested in the body shop, around €130-million in the press shop and around €70-million in assembly, amongst others. All these investments show just how strongly the Sindelfingen site and the biggest employer in the Stuttgart region are focused on future requirements.

"All of us here at Sindelfingen are enormously proud that the S-class is made exclusively at our plant. We are able to draw on many years of experience making vehicles in the high-end, luxury class, and we do our best every day for our customers from around the world. In order to meet demand for the new S-class in the quickest time possible, we will be working without a break right through the summer months," said Dr. Willi Reiss, Head of the Mercedes-Benz plant Sindelfingen. 

Erich Klemm, Chairman of the Group's General Works Council and Chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant's Works Council said, "We are very proud of the S-class as a product from Sindelfingen - developed, planned, and produced here. The Sindelfingen plant's workforce is demonstrating once again that our top-of-the-line product can efficiently and economically be built in Germany and delivered around the globe. The specific advantage of our operations in Sindelfingen - the close collaboration of development, production planning, and local production - is significantly contributing to this success. Thus, the S-class is securing many jobs in Germany - also within the automotive supplier industry."

Posted in: Andreas Renschler,Assembly/Manufacturing Plant,Dr. Dieter Zetsche,Dr. Willi Reiss,Erich Klemm,Europe,International,Luxury,Mercedes-Benz,Mercedes-Benz S-class,Sindelfingen