Hello all,
Are all of the 212's built in Germany? I know my C was a south africa build....
Rick

 

See from your VIN (internal VIN). I believe all are from Germany (all Euro, US and similar markets).

 

Thanks! I haven't bought one yet. Still considering the purchase.
RP

 

All E-class seem to come from Sindelfingen actually. I thought some wagons were built in Bremen too but I must have been confused with the C-class.
http://www.jesmb.de/standorte.htm

 

China. They always have been made there since the first W210. The Chinese factory puts on a nice looking "Made in Germany" plate that looks so real because the plates are actually made in Germany and shipped to the Chinese factory for affixing onto the cars. The cars are then shipped to Germany and distributed worldwide from there.

14 year old Chinese kids will work for cheap. Mercedes stays profitable. It's a win.

http://www.danwei.org/breaking_news/..._be_made_i.php

 

I read an article not too long ago where old Dr. Benz told the press that he stands behind the Chinese made cars and says they are just as good as their German counterparts. But later when asked if Benz had any plans to export the Chinese made cars, he said no, that the demand in China was too high for any exports lol.

 

Actually I take all that back. I don't think the W212s are made in China. I found a Hello Kitty decal in the engine bay of the new W212 E63 I test drove, so now I'm thinking they're made in Japan.

 

There are other markets where import is very much restricted, I don't know which models are made at each place (China, India, some Far-East countries) but none of those export MB cars which is why I ignore those completely when we talk about US (or European) cars. Also the source I usually use, does not cover those factories (www.jesmb.de).

 

All E's are made there, but they recently decided to move C production, or at least a major part, to Alabama. This upset the unions in Sindelfingen a lot, but M-B promised to add other lines to the plant there.

 

That's too bad. M-B just isn't the same anymore. I mean Alabama?

Personally that's a huge deal to me. I wouldn't consider an M-B a true "M-B" unless it's built in Germany, that's just me.

Then again, C-Classes never really got my stamp of approval anyway.

 

For the record my Alabama built R class has had less problems, (nearly flawless) than my German built C class. I'm with you though, I like the idea of a German Car being made in Germany..call me crazy.

 

Yeah, I don't doubt the build quality, i.e one being better than the other. Just with an M-B, it's gotta be German built for me, kind of ruins the "spirit" or whatever.

 

lol, ya the SUVs which are all built in US (except G class) get good quality ratings year round.

 

Ha! Germany is now outsourcing to American labor. I'm sure much of it has to do with the import and distribution of the vehicles in the American market, but it really speaks volumes to how the Europeans (and the rest of the world) view the state of the Euro currency in the future.

 

Hi,

just to clarify, the assembly units in China and India are just making an assembly of knocked down kits to lower import taxes. Kits get imported as "parts", entire cars are much higher in taxes. Thats why chinese and india assembled cars do not come to european or US shores.

 

So if I buy a C class (or an SUV) in a few years is "Alabama Delivery" an option? Doesn't sound quite as exciting as European Delivery.

 

LOL. "Alabama Delivery", very classy.

 

Europeans will be able to take American delivery, drive 65 and experience made in USA potholes.

 

The term "'Bama Benz" will be coined.

 

I am quite fond of my wife's GL and also knowing the fact that there is a 50% chance my brother built her GL. As there are (were) 2 shifts running that month and he was on one of the shifts.

 

The GLK is built in Germany. The ML, GL, and R both short and long versions are built in Alabama. It's true the Alabama built cars do get good quality ratings, but a funny story ran on Yahoo about a month ago giving each brand and which models were best and which models were the worst. The GL320 (German built diesel if I'm not mistaken) was the worst, so out of a line up of Alabama GL's, they chose the one with the pure German engine as being of the worst quality. To be fair, they didn't mention how they came about these findings, so there's no real information on exactly why they chose what they chose.

 

right, i forgot about glk, that's pretty much a c class (ie what 3 series is to x3). I got one as a loaner and it was nice and quick and the 4matic handled well.

 

Why US spec of don`t matter what MBs is at much lower price than European spec? The same can be said about other brands(BMW, Porsche etc). Why is that?
Once i covered that question about w212 partially.

 

I understand why the idea of a German car made in Germany is the only way some of us want to go, but unfortunately the fluctuating Euro/Dollar exchange rate makes it very hard for German car companies to stay competitive in the US. Especially on lower profit models like C-Class, it makes sense that Daimler would want to protect itself against the currency fluctuation.

MB isn't alone here, BMW builds the X3 and X5 and now the new Z4 in Spartanburg, SC.

 

this is probably especially true with models that only sell very well in the US such as the SUVs