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Today, I took my X214 in for its 10K service, and while I was there, I walked over to an Edition-1 E53 that was on the showroom floor.
Even though the Final assembly is still showing as Sindelfingen, Germany, the German component percentage in this E-class, is just 16%. 16% !
So 84% of what comprises this E-class, comes from outside Germany. I am guessing China, since China makes a lot of E-classes too.
For reference, my 2022 X213 had 82% German components, and my 2025 X214 has 35%. So the German parts content is seemingly getting progressively reduced, every year. A very poignant sign of German de-industrialization due to questionable energy policies driven by the bureaucracy. I am personally not too thrilled about this.
This was the first E53 that I saw in the flesh, and I really liked the sport bucket seats. I would kill to get those in my X214.
The rear hatch area of course has the battery hump that takes away the hatch space (already knew that), but when the seats are folded, the space is not flat, after the hump in the rear (I assumed that even with the hump, they would keep the area flat, with the seats folded), which was a surprise for me.
Overall, the car looked fantastic from outside, and also from the inside. I really liked the 4 exhaust tips, unlike the fake tips in the X214. The Ground clearance is just not the same as the X214, and I personally would not want to lose any of the GC of the X214. Overall, pluses and minuses.
Today, I took my X214 in for its 10K service, and while I was there, I walked over to an Edition-1 E53 that was on the showroom floor.
Even though the Final assembly is still showing as Sindelfingen, Germany, the German component percentage in this E-class, is just 16%. 16% !
So 84% of what comprises this E-class, comes from outside Germany. I am guessing China, since China makes a lot of E-classes too.
For reference, my 2022 X213 had 82% German components, and my 2025 X214 has 35%. So the German parts content is seemingly getting progressively reduced, every year. A very poignant sign of German de-industrialization due to questionable energy policies driven by the bureaucracy. I am personally not too thrilled about this.
If 84% was from China, that would be disclosed as a 'Major Source of Foreign Parts'. While there are no doubt some parts from China, eastern Europe is the most likely source for a lot of components. And I believe that labeling is percentage of parts by cost, not percentage of parts by quantity. The battery, a significant PHEV cost, is no doubt sourced from outside of Germany...might even be from MB's US battery factory. So the actual number of German parts in your E450 are most likely shared with the E53.
The below is probably important to understand. So the remaining parts do not all come from China. They come from various different places, but each other foreign country makes up less than 15%, so it doesn't have to be listed. The rest could as well come from the U.S. or Canada. Not really sure this matters much. If you think about what all goes into a car. Screws, nuts, leather, plastic etc. As long as the car, engine and transmission are assembled in Germany, I'd call it a German car. We can start arguing when it's assembled outside of Germany if it's still a German car then.
The Monroney label (window sticker) on a new car explicitly lists the major sources of foreign parts content that individually account for 15 percent or more of the total parts value, excluding U.S. and Canadian content. The specific countries and their percentages are provided for each individual vehicle model.
Last edited by superswiss; Nov 21, 2025 at 10:37 PM.
A manufacturer can purchase very high quality parts from China. It is all a matter of meeting the required specifications for the agreed upon cost. You can buy low quality parts from anywhere if you just want to cut corners. I tend to buy German products because I am usually happy with the finished product - cars, optics, power tools and chainsaws, home appliances etc.
A manufacturer can purchase very high quality parts from China. It is all a matter of meeting the required specifications for the agreed upon cost. You can buy low quality parts from anywhere if you just want to cut corners. I tend to buy German products because I am usually happy with the finished product - cars, optics, power tools and chainsaws, home appliances etc.
also - having lived in china for many years - their cars are getting better and better.
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As long as the car, engine and transmission are assembled in Germany, I'd call it a German car.
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Mercedes are thought of as German cars no matter where they are assembled.
Many Mercedes models do not have an engine or transmission made in Germany.
A very large percentage comes from Poland.
Specifications and standards for design, materials, labor and adherence to them determine quality, not geolocation.
2019 E 450, 2016 E350 4matic (retired), 2018 Ford Edge Sport, 2008 Porsche Boxster
Originally Posted by superswiss
The below is probably important to understand. So the remaining parts do not all come from China. They come from various different places, but each other foreign country makes up less than 15%, so it doesn't have to be listed. The rest could as well come from the U.S. or Canada. Not really sure this matters much. If you think about what all goes into a car. Screws, nuts, leather, plastic etc. As long as the car, engine and transmission are assembled in Germany, I'd call it a German car. We can start arguing when it's assembled outside of Germany if it's still a German car then.
Mercedes are thought of as German cars no matter where they are assembled.
Many Mercedes models do not have an engine or transmission made in Germany.
A very large percentage comes from Poland.
Specifications and standards for design, materials, labor and adherence to them determine quality, not geolocation.
So this is a topic I personally have particular opinions about. Where something is produced matters and determines its desirability. As a European politician recently said, Switzerland is known for watches and Italy is known for pasta. Nobody buys watches made in Italy or pasta made Switzerland. It's not completely true as there's some good pasta made in Switzerland, but it goes to a point. I give you two other examples.
Coca Cola, in this case an American product. The Coca Cola produced in the U.S. is frankly terrible. This is because Coca Cola switched to using corn syrup instead of cane sugar in the 80s. If you buy Coca Cola from Mexico, it's still made with cane sugar and tastes much better. Same goes if you buy Coca Cola in Europe. It's made with cane sugar as well. So in this case, the product when produced outside America is better. On top of that when you order a Coke in many places in the U.S. it's concentrate mixed with the local chlorinated tap water, so the Coke tastes like a swimming pool. I've never had a Coke in Mexico or Europe that tasted like a swimming pool.
Second example is Haribo. A German company known for their gummy bears. They produce them all over the world for the respective local markets. Again, the ones you can buy here in the U.S. are made with corn syrup. While made to specification I suppose, they are not good. If you buy Haribo gummy bears in Germany or Europe in general, they are made with cane sugar and taste much much better. I always bring back a few packs, because I can't stand the ones they sell here.
The point is that ingredients matter. From the labor skills, how detail oriented the workers are, work culture combined with local resources such as water etc. that goes into it determines the outcome. When it comes to cars for example, there are known differences in the paint quality between the U.S and Europe for example due to different local regulations and the resulting chemical make up of the paint. So yes, the engineering of a Mercedes is still German, so it can be considered German, but I have my reservations depending on where they are built. The US Mercedes plant is not particularly known for its quality for example as many GLE owners can attest to. Poland is a different story and I haven't heard much about quality issues with engines built in Poland. The South Africa plant on the other hand where many current Mercedes are being assembled, including the W206 has also demonstrated quality issues. I'm not saying everything that comes out of Germany doesn't have any issues, and unfortunately German manufacturing isn't what it once was anymore, but there are still quality differences.
Last edited by superswiss; Nov 22, 2025 at 02:04 PM.
You are supporting my point! The geolocation quality variance seems to be poor adherence to standards and/or non-uniform standards especially for labor such as education, skill level and societal norms for performance.
If the South African work force was relocated to Germany, I would expect that the product quality would be similar to South African product quality, not German quality. It is the components that matter the most, not geolocation.
Does you work quality vary depending on your location? As an international network consultant I worked in a different country each week, but my work product quality never varied.
You are supporting my point! The geolocation quality variance seems to be poor adherence to standards and/or non-uniform standards especially for labor such as education, skill level and societal norms for performance.
If the South African work force was relocated to Germany, I would expect that the product quality would be similar to South African product quality, not German quality. It is the components that matter the most, not geolocation.
Does you work quality vary depending on your location? As an international network consultant I worked in a different country each week, but my work product quality never varied.
Yeah, but that's it. They don't relocate the German workforce to plants outside of Germany. It's generally a local workforce and not one that travels around. The geolocation matters in the sense of where people were educated and trained. The quality of my work is highly influenced by the fact that I was educated and trained in Europe and I bring those skills with me wherever I go. So yes, my work quality is the same regardless of where I perform it. However, I am subject to local regulations, customs and resources, so I may not be able to perform my work equally depending on where I am due to available resources, other team members skill levels etc.
I have a German friend who works for MTU. It's a German company that makes ship and aero engines. He gets personally requested by the higher ups at the US Coast Guard etc. to come here and fix/maintain the engines, because his counterparts at MTU America can't get their ducks in a row. He brings experience with him that's unmatched by the local MTU workforce here.
Last edited by superswiss; Nov 22, 2025 at 05:28 PM.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
