Speculation arose a week ago that Mercedes-Benz has made plans to build one of its most popular vehicles in the U.S. The obvious candidate was the GLC, and now the company has confirmed that it will in fact assemble the model at its Alabama plant.
Production is scheduled to start at the end of 2027. The GLC assembled there will be aimed primarily at the North American market.
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius has said that the U.S. is a “place where we want to grow in the future”, given the size of the North American market.
“You want to be able to grow in [major global] markets ... be close to the customer and ... react to the marketplace in a quick manner,” he said at a roundtable with the media on May 12.
The company didn't say how much will be invested there, but it did say it’s significant.
Mercedes-Benz North America CEO Jason Hoff emphasized that production of the GLE and GLS SUVs, as well as their electric variants, will continue in Alabama. He also added that an expansion of the plant isn’t necessary to accommodate production of the GLC. The plant is currently operating at 87 percent of its annual capacity of 305,000 vehicles.
The model is important for the American market. In the U.S., the company sells almost as many German-made GLCs as the three most popular imported models combined. Last year alone, it sold 64,163 GLCs in the U.S., representing 20 percent of its passenger car volume.
The automaker’s investment in Alabama will run in parallel with plans to expand its van assembly plant in Charleston, South Carolina.
