Mercedes-Benz U.S. International on Tuesday unveiled the new GLE and GLS SUVs to be built at the Vance plant, while announcing that another $4 billion will be invested in the Tuscaloosa County plant by 2030.
“The new GLE and GLS, alongside the EQE SUV, the EQS SUV and the Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, are symbols of our commitment to Alabama,” said Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG. “In the future, the localized GLC will further strengthen our U.S. footprint. And for me personally, this place isn’t just part of our company’s history as the first major plant outside Germany — it marks one of the most important chapters of my own Mercedes-Benz journey.”
Also attending the event were Senators Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville, as well as U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Former University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, whose Dream Motor Group counts Mercedes-Benz dealerships among those that it owns, also attended.
Currently, the GLE, GLS and GLE Coupe sport utility vehicles, along with AMG performance variants and the Mercedes-Maybach GLS, are assembled at the Tuscaloosa site for all global markets. The plant also assembles the all-electric EQE SUV, EQS SUV and Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV. In the course of the next few years, the GLC SUV will also come to the Tuscaloosa facility.
Since 1995, the Vance plant has assembled more than 5 million vehicles, according to Mercedes.
“Tuscaloosa, one of the pillars of our global manufacturing footprint, is essential to our global SUV portfolio — supplying customers around the world while strengthening industrial capabilities here in the United States,” said Michael Schiebe, member of the Mercedes-Benz Group AG board of management for production, quality & supply chain management. “Through 2030, we are investing more than four billion dollars to ensure this plant remains a key strategic pillar of Mercedes-Benz’s manufacturing footprint for the next generation.”
