NEXT MERCEDES-BENZ C-CLASS COMING IN 2014

Mercedes-Benz South Africa last week held very important discussions with its components partners in order to continue planning for the production of the next C-Class sedan. MBSA produced 54 000 C-Class units from its plant in East London. About a quarter were for local consumption, while the rest went to countries like the United States.

The all-new C-Class debuts in 2014 and over the next two years the company is steadily investing R2 billion in all its operations in order to support the introduction of this all-important car. According to Mercedes-Benz, the next-generation C-Class will come with over 12 new technologies, both in itself and for its production processes. Do we hear the word Hybrid there somewhere? Probably.

Importantly, the local component suppliers stand to benefit quite extensively. MBSA plans to achieve a greater localisation quota, to help sustain and even grow the automotive industry’s current 6% annual contribution to GDP.