Daimler announced Friday that it would spend $1.3 billion in its Tuscaloosa, Alabama factory to upgrade its equipment and technology, and to also add a 1.3 million square-foot body shop.
The investment will also add 300 jobs to the plant, which produces the C-Class and GL-class — and perhaps GLT? — and work is reportedly already underway. The plant has been open since 1997 and has predominantly produced SUVs, although its future products are less clear.
Mercedes is reportedly preparing to make a truck, based on the Nissan Navara, to release in global markets. In Frankfurt, the updated Nissan Navara and related Renault Alaskan made their debuts, although only the Navara will have a life in the U.S. — probably as the next Frontier. Mercedes would need to produce its pickups in the NAFTA zone to avoid a Chicken Tax if they were to sell one here. (Sprinter doesn’t care.)
According to the automaker, the plant improvements will add hybrid capability to their SUVs, including the GLE.
The investment will reportedly create a much larger “marriage station,” which is where bodies will meet chassis. Mercedes produced more than 230,000 cars at the plant in 2014, and will reportedly make more than 300,000 cars this year, according to Reuters.
The improvements will reportedly be complete by 2017.
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