Mercedes-Benz Kecskemét plant reaches 500,000-car milestone
The Kecskemét facility in Hungary has produced half a million Mercedes-Benz vehicles since opening in 2012, with the CLA and CLA Shooting Brake built exclusively for global markets.
Mercedes-Benz has produced its 500,000th vehicle at the Kecskemét plant in Hungary, less than four years after the factory began operations. The milestone car, a cosmos black CLA, was destined for a Hungarian customer, marking a rapid ramp-up for Daimler’s first European passenger car plant outside Germany.
The Kecskemét facility, which opened on 29 March 2012, has become a central part of Mercedes-Benz’s compact car production strategy. The site builds the B-Class, the CLA, and the CLA Shooting Brake. Both the CLA and CLA Shooting Brake are assembled exclusively in Hungary for all global markets. This gives the Hungarian plant a unique role within Daimler’s international production network, which also includes the Rastatt plant in Germany and BBAC in Beijing, China.
Production focus on compact models
The Kecskemét plant’s output is focused on the brand’s compact line-up. Mercedes-Benz’s compact car sales saw strong growth at the start of 2016, with 45,840 units delivered in January alone. That figure represented a 35.9 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier, underlining the importance of compact models to the brand’s global strategy.
The CLA and CLA Shooting Brake are not built anywhere else, making the Hungarian plant the sole source for these models worldwide. The B-Class, meanwhile, is assembled both in Hungary and at other Daimler sites. Additional A-Class production is handled by contract manufacturer Valmet Automotive in Finland to meet global demand.
Investment in plant expansion
Daimler announced in December 2015 a €15 million investment to expand the logistics hall and improve supply of parts at Kecskemét. Construction was scheduled to begin in early 2016, with completion targeted for the summer. The expansion aims to support the plant’s growing role in the compact car network and improve efficiency as volumes rise.
The Kecskemét plant’s rapid growth reflects Mercedes-Benz’s broader push in the compact segment, which has seen the brand challenge rivals in markets such as India and China. For more on the company’s strategy in compact cars, see Mercedes-Benz targets Audi with compact push in India.
