German car giant Daimler AG's (DDAIF.PK) Mercedes-Benz Vans Friday said it would invest around $500 million to create a plant in Charleston, South Carolina to explore the future growth potential in North American Van market.
The new plant at an area of 200 acres will have a new body shop, paint shop as well as an assembly line. Charleston plant will focus on next-generation Sprinter, in large van segment. The company expects the South Carolina plant to add 1300 jobs to the region.
The new own plant which start construction in 2016, will help avoid high import duties and complex assembly of various parts manufactured in Germany.Further the company said the plant will enable it to more economically meet the growing demand in future and reduce delivery time.
Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said, "We are investing around half a billion dollars to create a top-notch Mercedes-Benz van plant here in South Carolina. This plant is key to our future growth in the very dynamic North American van market."
He added that "Charleston is an excellent location for our new plant. The region has very highly skilled workers, a dense network of reliable suppliers, and an outstanding logistics infrastructure that includes good transport connections to the nearby harbor."
The Sprinter has been available in the United States since 2001, and holds approximately nine percent of the country's large van market.
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