Some of this ownership might be associated with the partnership between (Chinese) Geely and Mercedes for the Smart car but it surprised me to see the largest stockholders are Chinese. Li Shufu controls Geely and might be close to a 10% owner. The BAIC Group is controlled by the CCP. Here’s a clip from the net:

“The Chinese BAIC Group currently holds 10.0 % of the company's voting rights, making it Mercedes-Benz Group AG's largest individual shareholder. Other major shareholders include the Chinese investor Li Shufu (since 2018) and the Kuwait Investment Authority (since 1974).”

Now I understand why so many Mercedes parts come from China.

A Old news
B What parts exactly come from China? Every time I'm in the parts dept I'm seeing made in Europe tags.

Pischetsrieder is Chairman. Look for (German) family ownership among current and former German automotive family names.

Note “private” shareholder ownership on the wiki page. Private shareholders can hold controlling voting power.

Dig two and three levels beneath the surface.

There are no shareholders with over 12%.
As a group, the biggest shareholders are U.S. investment firms.
It's been a good investment, although cyclical.

[QUOTE=mercedesmax;8644053]

A Old news
Old news isn’t the issue, IMO. The fact that a Communist Party controlled company owns 10% of Mercedes is of concern for a lot of reasons. Add another piece near 10% by a Chinese Billionaire and they have too much ownership. There’s not a lot of independence allowed even Billionaires in China. For me it’s a “red flag” but not something I know any of the details. The SEC has special rules in the US when stock ownership reaches 10%.

B What parts exactly come from China? Every time I'm in the parts dept I'm seeing made in Europe tags.

My statement was intended to be a little humorous. I really can’t answer that question except for some/all of the GLE rooftop cross bars and running boards are from China. It’s common knowledge that a lot of automotive parts come from China along with everything else. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the engine, suspension, drive train pieces weren’t supplied from China…there are thousands of individual pieces…pistons. connecting rods, bearings, gears, seals, hoses, etc.
They steal your technology and produce decent quality components at favorable prices.

Since when have things/products that our government 'allows' us to buy not coming from China or someplace other than the US where there are not as many labor laws/taxes?

[QUOTE=Ron.s;8644489]I shouldn't be surprised at how much common knowledge is usually wrong. I have yet to see a Mercedes part stamped made in China. If there is it is probably for the Mercedes cars made in China for the Chinese market. But that doesn't mean anything for the rest of the world.

No more Nissan engines in MB's? No more re-badged MB's sold as Nissan? (Infiniti QX30) Looks like the Metris van was a failure here also.

https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/202...6ddCEAFQaQqYdc

You are wrong. PLENTY of MB parts are made in China, I see them all the time. The most recent was a windshield washer pump. Relays as well, and many other parts. The interior of the new C-class being sold in the U.S is made by a Chinese firm.

Maybe the Nissan factory ran out of pistons because so many were cracking in M274-engined vehicle (E-, C-, and GLC-).

A windshield washer pump oh my. OP was claiming engine suspension and drivetrain parts. In other words critical pieces. Hell, the badges for these cars are stamped Made in Spain. If you and the OP were right you would think some cheap plastic parts would be made in China.
Please post proof of C Class interior being made in China, would like to see that.

Yanfeng Automotive Interior Systems Co., Ltd.

They build interiors for Ford, and probably others. So your Mercedes has the same quality interior as a Ford, it's no wonder the 2015+ C-class feels so cheap inside.

https://www.automotivepurchasingands...s-Benz-A-Class

You know little about what you speak; this is the new MB, building them cheap. They are fast becoming throw-away cars much like most other brands. MB German craftsmanship is gone, and has been for a while, since 2014 or so. You and others are falling for the marketing of the shiny star.

Here’s what I said…not quite the same as what you are quoting-
“It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the engine, suspension, drive train pieces weren’t supplied from China…there are thousands of individual pieces”
The fact is that neither one of us know where all the parts come from but I’ll go out on a limb and bet that a significant number of pieces are from China. As far as I know, a lot of the cheap plastic (GLE parts) you refer to are from a US based company with a presence near the plant in Vance. Just because a Mercedes engine is considered as German doesn’t mean that all of the components come from Germany. Do you think that the MBUX system is German? The key Nvidia chip components are custom made by TSMC for Nvidia. (No I don’t consider Taiwan as part of China) Actually in many cases the Chinese might make very good quality stuff. In todays environment of ongoing component shortages, most companies will take what they can get. Hopefully China becomes a last resort soon.

I don't see anything here than a Chinese company manufacturing instrument panels for the A-Class in Mexico. Care to share relevant information without your irrelevant commentary?

I think I have a much better idea than you do. I find it irresponsible to come here and make a statement without any facts to back it up. All you do is rile up the barking dogs who hate Mercedes and will glom on to any theory as proof that we should too.

It's an older article showing that some MB interiors are in fact built by a Chinese conglomerate. The new 206 c-class also has interiors built by the same Chinese company, I've seen the labels on the parts but can't find a newer press release. Do you have any relevant contributions for this thread minus your irrelevant observations?

I already paid for my GLE and I love it!

At this point, I couldn't care less if Tonka Toys made it. Nothing I can do about it now; except enjoy it while I can. My experience with this one will go a long way in determining if I purchase another one in the future. I'm sure there are many manufacturers, if not most, that have parts that are made in China; not going to get away from that for the foreseeable future.

So I say enjoy what you have and stop the bickering over something that, IMO, doesn't change a damn thing; i.e. if your MB does or doesn't have parts made in China, are your going to stop driving it?

Can you be more specific, as to what portion of the C-Class interior will be made by that company?

A dash panel? An ashtray? The mirror?
Are they generic parts like a fuse, or custom like leather seat covers?

In any case, I'm really not sure why this is a concern.

I have suggested that you back up your information without drawing quality parallels you can't support. Didn't think this would be irrelevant. Coincidently your posts are also off-topic...

The second post here talks about Merecedes parts from China, then there is a back and forth between two members about Chinese MB parts, I don't think my posts are off-topic, unless most of the other posts after that are. (?) Now, If I told you the transmission mounts are made in India (yep!) then MAYBE that would be off topic.

I'm still trying to research exactly which interior parts are made in China....Mb doesn't exactly advertise this, but if I find something I'll be sure to post it for those who choose not to believe me.

Why are Chinese parts in a MB so unbelievable? China is MB's largest world market, it makes the U.S. market look like a side hustle for them. Or does no one believe that either?

It doesn't fit the narrative that MBs are reliable bank vaults, which they aren't. They were in 1978, but no longer.

It's funny how posts can disappear lately when they don't 'relate' and or 'stay on topic'.

Have they?

O.T. the only posts I see that disappear are those who comment in the benzninja threads. Haven't figured out how he can delete posts.....