Mercedes-Benz has broken ground at its passenger cars plant in Brazil, which is a part of the company’s global production network expansion plan.
The plant is located at Iracemápolis near Sao Paulo and the German car maker investing a total of BRL 500m ($182m) in the facility which has annual production capacity of 20,000 vehicles.
Mercedes will be producing the C-Class in the plant starting in the first quarter of 2016 which will be followed by the production of GLA compact SUV in mid year.
The company said that the plant will create 600 new jobs until the start of production and it will generate nearly 3,000 jobs in the region through suppliers and service providers.
The company said that the level of automation of its Brazilian plant will be lower when compared to other Mercedes-Benz plants, as it is focusing more on employees and employment, and trying to make the plant most flexible one in its global production network.
Mercedes-Benz Cars Divisional Board member Markus Schafer said: "Local production will even better allow us to tap the potentials of the emerging Brazilian market and to respond more flexibly to the wishes of our customers.
"In the first stage, we are aiming for an annual capacity of 20,000 vehicles. If the market will develop as hoped for, the plant has the potential for a further significant expansion in the future."
