Production delays/ timeline
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2019
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ML350
I assume a lot of the cars sitting in the parking lots had lower VIN numbers but not sure again!
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 8
Likes: 3
ML350
So I finally got word from my dealer that my car is in production. According to the Netstar printout he gave me it says it’s in B3 status? Is that right? Decade planned is 19/09-1 and estimated production date is 09/3D/2019. Decade scheduled is 19/09-3. I placed this order for a fully loaded GLE in The beginning of April. Any ideas when it’ll be completed?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2002
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From: Vancouver
CLK320
What is your last six digits in your VIN? I’m not sure but I just got my VIN and it ends in the 95,000 range and I compared it with some cars that just came out that are in the 90,000 to 92,000 ranges. It would make sense that my 350 will get built soon but I have learn not much makes sense when ordering a MB.
I assume a lot of the cars sitting in the parking lots had lower VIN numbers but not sure again!
I assume a lot of the cars sitting in the parking lots had lower VIN numbers but not sure again!
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 8
Likes: 3
ML350
200,000 or 20,000? Not sure they have built 200,000 450’s already but I really don’t know if they have or if the sequence means anything. You would think it would. Maybe some more experienced folks on this forum might know. Good luck,
Last edited by JohnW123; Aug 9, 2019 at 09:14 PM.
Junior Member
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 35
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From: Michigan
2019 Cabriolet AMG S 63
Junior Member
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 35
Likes: 5
From: Michigan
2019 Cabriolet AMG S 63
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Member
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 151
Likes: 41
From: Paris
2020 GLE 300d
Some explanations about the production delays and some goods news from Germany according to a German newspapers (article released yesterday). Here are some interesting extracts with translation:
"In the USA, several crisis units have been struggling for months against difficulties in ramping up the production of important models such as the next generation of the high-yield SUV GLE or the new van bestseller Sprinter. Yet they barely made any progress.
One of the reasons: Many specialists did not make it at all or only with a delay to the front. The US initially denied them the necessary visas, it says from group circles: "That has limited us".
Missing or delayed issued work permits, as measured by the many other construction sites at Daimler, may represent only a small problem. But the example shows by way of example how many places it has caught on the Swabians in the past nine months. Daimler declined to comment on internal events.
In the meantime, visa worries are no longer an issue anyway.
(...)
Internally it is said that the massive supplier problems, which gave it in the American mammoth work in Tuscaloosa with the production start-up of the new version of the GLE, are largely solved. If this finding is true, three revised derivatives of the model in Alabama should roll off the production line this year: GLE Coupé, GLS and GLS Maybach should provide additional growth impulses."
"In the USA, several crisis units have been struggling for months against difficulties in ramping up the production of important models such as the next generation of the high-yield SUV GLE or the new van bestseller Sprinter. Yet they barely made any progress.
One of the reasons: Many specialists did not make it at all or only with a delay to the front. The US initially denied them the necessary visas, it says from group circles: "That has limited us".
Missing or delayed issued work permits, as measured by the many other construction sites at Daimler, may represent only a small problem. But the example shows by way of example how many places it has caught on the Swabians in the past nine months. Daimler declined to comment on internal events.
In the meantime, visa worries are no longer an issue anyway.
(...)
Internally it is said that the massive supplier problems, which gave it in the American mammoth work in Tuscaloosa with the production start-up of the new version of the GLE, are largely solved. If this finding is true, three revised derivatives of the model in Alabama should roll off the production line this year: GLE Coupé, GLS and GLS Maybach should provide additional growth impulses."
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,189
Likes: 81
From: Vancouver
CLK320
At the moment seems like they have no plan to bring back the cars sitting out in the parking lot back to production. Why would they encourage dealers to re order ? What will happen to all the car sitting out in the lot.
Newbie
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 10
Likes: 9
2014 ML350
I just took delivery of my GLE450 (pretty much loaded except the e-abc) which was ordered late April with a forecasted production date of July 11th. Around the 3rd week of July my salesman called me and said the order was coded as suspended (can’t remember the status code, I think it was B4 or something similar) due to the mystery missing part. Well 3 weeks later I’ve taken delivery of the vehicle so I figured it couldn’t have been sitting there too long.
Well after taking delivery I opened the hood and came across a dried up leave which really surprised me given where we are in the seasons and when I believed this car was produced. The VIN ends with 81336, anyone else with a GLE450 care to share when their car was produced and their VIN sequence? Does a VIN in the 81,000 for a July production date make sense?
Well after taking delivery I opened the hood and came across a dried up leave which really surprised me given where we are in the seasons and when I believed this car was produced. The VIN ends with 81336, anyone else with a GLE450 care to share when their car was produced and their VIN sequence? Does a VIN in the 81,000 for a July production date make sense?
Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 174
Likes: 30
From: RI
2020 GLE 450
Well after taking delivery I opened the hood and came across a dried up leave which really surprised me given where we are in the seasons and when I believed this car was produced. The VIN ends with 81336, anyone else with a GLE450 care to share when their car was produced and their VIN sequence? Does a VIN in the 81,000 for a July production date make sense?
Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 112
Likes: 17
20 GLE on order, 17 GLC 300 4M, Ducati 1299R
Newbie
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 10
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2014 ML350
Thanks, mmmm, does 17,000 produced in a month make sense? At least I have a higher number so I guess I can assume it’s not one of the units produced earlier in the year that has been sitting around in the hot Alabama sun.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 58
Likes: 30
From: Manchester UK.
GLE450 with Prem Plus Pk. Tech Plus PK.Driver assistance Pk.Hyacinth Red.22inch Alloys.
That seems to be the million dollar question. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to who gets what and when. I ordered my GLE450 at the beginning of April and was given a July / August delivery date which soon drifted out to October eta which in turn somehow changed to January with no guarantee that this will be a final date shift and no reason nor apology from anyone. It will be my first Mercedes and I will probably sit it out to the end but it really is not good enough service.
Just had an email from the National Corporate Operations Manager at Inchcape UK. The latest estimate for my GLE450 is now the last week in September which is 3 months sooner than the last date I was given. Things MAY be moving on at last.
Member
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 151
Likes: 41
From: Paris
2020 GLE 300d
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 58
Likes: 30
From: Manchester UK.
GLE450 with Prem Plus Pk. Tech Plus PK.Driver assistance Pk.Hyacinth Red.22inch Alloys.
Given the date of last week in September that has been quoted, will it even be in production yet? I'm not very well up on the production/delivery time schedule.
Member
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 151
Likes: 41
From: Paris
2020 GLE 300d
I was informed that the vehicle has completed production about 7 weeks before the (supposed) delivery date (first week of September) and I got the information only because I asked the dealer so maybe the information was available one or two weeks before. So I guess, for you, the production should be done or nearly be done. And I don't think they would have taken the risk to give you a delivery date if the vehicle was not already built.
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 35
Likes: 14
From: Virginia
BMW M340Xi; GLE 450
The thing that bugs me is that in today's day and age we still have to ask the SR for the status, where you can only call them so often without irking them or SR only shares a part of the status update verbally while missing something important in the process.
While all the supplier / production issues were going on the thing that was driving customer service to the worst levels is "not knowing or having visibility into status of our orders". Where was MB IT department and CIO office in this whole fiasco?
At the very least they could have worked on opening up limited netstar access to consumers so we the consumers have somewhat of a real time view into the status of our cars. Was that too difficult of a decision for MB Corporate or CIO office when driving consumer experience is one of the core tenets of business today. I am sure that could have been done in few weeks let alone almost the year this problem has been going on.
While all the supplier / production issues were going on the thing that was driving customer service to the worst levels is "not knowing or having visibility into status of our orders". Where was MB IT department and CIO office in this whole fiasco?
At the very least they could have worked on opening up limited netstar access to consumers so we the consumers have somewhat of a real time view into the status of our cars. Was that too difficult of a decision for MB Corporate or CIO office when driving consumer experience is one of the core tenets of business today. I am sure that could have been done in few weeks let alone almost the year this problem has been going on.
