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Mercedes investing $500 million for new Sprinter plant in SC

The commercial van segment is exploding in popularity in the US right now with a vast array of recent products from multiple marques, and there's even more on the way from automakers like Hyundai. Mercedes-Benz is trying to grab a bigger share of the expanding market, too, and is launching its smaller Metris here in the fall. Now comes word that Mercedes will construct a $500-million factory in Charleston, SC, that will build the next-gen Sprinter domestically. According to Mercedes, construction of the new plant will begin in 2016, and when complete, the site will cover around 200 acres, including a body shop, paint shop and assembly line. It will also employ 1,300 people who will be building Sprinters badged as both Mercedes and Freightliner models. Rumors about this new construction go back to late last year. Mercedes currently has to ship some partially disassembled Sprinters into the US from Germany, paying import duties on them, and then the company puts the vans back together at a site in Ladson, SC. The process obviously adds costs to the models, and the domestic factory should mean a more price-competitive vehicle. Plus, a local factory means quicker deliveries to dealers. Despite the laborious import process, the Sprinter is a hit in the US. Mercedes sold 25,745 of them in 2014, which made the country the van's second-largest market behind Germany. They were first launched here in 2001 and since then have gained a nine-percent market share in the segment, according to the company. Mercedes is on a construction boom at the moment. The company is building a new corporate headquarters for the US in Atlanta, GA, due to be complete in 2018. The German brand is also investing $2.4 billion to expand its Tuscaloosa, AL, factory to build models like the forthcoming GLE-Class. MERCEDES-BENZ VANS TO INVEST AROUND $500 MILLION IN NEW VAN PLANT IN SOUTH CAROLINA, U.S. 09/03/15 from Mercedes-Benz New plant to be built in Charleston, South Carolina, beginning in 2016 Next generation Sprinter also to be manufactured in the U.S. Expansion of the global production network as part of the "Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global" growth strategy Creation of more than 1,300 new jobs planned Volker Mornhinweg: "We are investing around half a billion dollars to create a top-notch Mercedes-Benz van plant here in South Carolina.

Mercedes-Benz Concept GLC Coupe comes to China ready to fight BMW's X4

There's little denying that small crossovers are hot right now. Not only are automakers scrambling to exploit the popularity of the market, they're doing so by offering unique twists on the traditional two-box body style – enter the coupe-like four-door CUV. BMW, for example, has the X4, and now, Mercedes-Benz is bringing a challenger of its own. While it wears the concept name, the new GLC Coupe clearly foreshadows a production model that'll duke it out with the aforementioned BMW. If the vehicle shown above is any indication, when that fight happens, Mercedes will enter it with design on its side. The sheetmetal is muscular, with strong lines on the profile and the hood, while major themes in the front, back and sides are reminiscent of higher-end Silver Arrows. While we doubt the production GLC Coupe will be much of a trail bomber, fore and aft scuff plating is there to give the impression it can handle itself off road. Also, we feel obligated to give Mercedes bonus design points for the diagonally stacked quad exhausts at the back. It's worth noting that the Concept GLC Coupe's styling previews not one but two production vehicles, as it's logical to assume the design language featured here will have a strong influence on the next GLC (the crossover formerly known as the GLK). Not only will the GLC Coupe have aesthetics on its side, at 15.5-feet long and riding on a 111.4-inch wheelbase, it's larger than its rival from Munich, too, although only just. The X4 is two inches shorter overall and has an extra 0.8 inches between the axles. The Benz is wider, too, at 78.7 inches, compared to 74.1. Lending credence to the Concept GLC Coupe's production status, Mercedes released a pretty substantial array of technical details on its new four-door, coupe-crossover. With a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 punching out 367 horsepower and 387 pound-feet of torque, we're betting this would be the AMG Sport variant, rather than your everyday GLC. 4Matic all-wheel drive is a must-have in this segment, and it's present here, while a nine-speed automatic transmission is responsible for distributing power. The Concept GLC Coupe will be shown this week at the 2015 Shanghai Motor Show. Check back then for more. Mercedes-Benz Concept GLC Coupe The next coup Stuttgart / Shanghai. In a flowing transition, Mercedes-Benz lands the next coup: the Concept GLC Coupe is a near-production-standard study that carries the successful GLE Coupe formula over into a more compact segment.

Mercedes spent ˆ250 million to win Formula One titles last year

Success in Formula One requires skill, diligence, commitment and ingenuity. It also takes truckloads of money. In the case of Mercedes in last year's world championship, in which it took both the drivers' and constructors' titles in dominant style, those truckloads came to ˆ250 million last season alone – equivalent to over $285m in dead presidents. A report from Germany's own Auto Motor und Sport details the staggering investment that Mercedes made in order to get to the winner's circle last season. After 15 seasons with McLaren netting one constructors' and three drivers' titles, Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug convinced the Daimler board late in 2009 to take over the Brawn GP team that had just won the championship. Because the team would be getting a large payout from Bernie Ecclestone as the returning champions the following year, and with sponsors lined up, Daimler only had to pony up a small portion of a smaller budget: in 2010 (its first season under the Mercedes banner), the team ran on a budget of "only" ˆ153 million ($175m). Over the course of the following seasons, though, the team's share of the TV revenues from Formula One Management went down as Mercedes struggled to climb back up the standings, but successive advocates (including Haug, Ross Brawn and Niki Lauda) successfully convinced the bean-counters in Stuttgart to ratchet up the payments. By 2012, the budget was expanded to ˆ200 million, and further climbed to ˆ250 million in 2013 and 2014. Fortunately for Daimler, the investment was starting to pay off by then as the team finished second in the constructors' standings in 2013, bringing ˆ74 million in from Ecclestone's coffers to cover roughly a third of the budget. With Malaysian oil giant Petronas alone kicking in upwards of another ˆ30 million per season as title sponsor (as of 2009 when it signed on), and untold millions more coming in from other partners, it looks like the actual cost to Daimler for securing both world titles and a winning reputation was actually more like hundred million or so.