Daimler Annual Report 2011 - Alle jaarverslagen

4 | The Divisions | Mercedes-Benz Cars
Perfect design: With the distinctive C-Class coupe, Mercedes-Benz offers a compact classic coupe for the first time.
Between 2010 and 2014, Daimler will invest $2.4 billion
in its Tuscaloosa plant in the United States. This facility, which
has traditionally been the production location for M-, GLand
R-Class SUVs, will also produce the C-Class for North
American customers starting in 2014. And as of 2015,
a new Mercedes-Benz model series will roll off the assembly
lines in Tuscaloosa as the plant’s fifth product.
We are investing €600 million in the Rastatt plant and €800
million in a new plant in Kecskemét, Hungary, in order to prepare
the facilities for production of the new compact-car models.
Rastatt began producing the new B-Class in September 2011.
In the spring of 2012, the new plant in Hungary will begin
operating in conjunction with Rastatt.
Due to the large number of production launches and
medium-term production targets, Mercedes-Benz is investing
more than €1.5 billion in 2011 and 2012 to modernize and
expand manufacturing activities associated with engines, axles
and transmissions at its main plant in Untertürkheim.
Further reductions in CO 2 emissions. Our new econom -
ical engines, ECO start-stop technology, and new and extremely
efficient model versions enabled us to reduce the average
CO 2 emissions of the cars we sold in the European Union in the
year under review from 158 grams per kilometer to 150 g/km,
although we had a larger proportion of high-end automobiles in
our model mix. Our goal is to reduce the average CO 2 emissions
of our new vehicle fleet in the European Union to 125 g/km
by 2016 (see pages 94 f and 148 f).
Numerous awards for Mercedes-Benz cars. Mercedes-Benz
was once again honored by several organizations in 2011 for
outstanding achievements in the categories of safety, design,
value retention and service. Above all, the quality of our automobiles
was widely acclaimed.
Readers of auto motor sport magazine named the S-Class and
the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG “Best Car of the Year” in their
respective categories. Mercedes-Benz also captured the AUTO
BILD Design Award for the third consecutive year with the
new SLK. In addition, our design team was selected “Team of the
Year” in the Automotive Brand Contest. The C-, E- and M-Class
models from Mercedes-Benz all received top marks in their
respective segments in the J.D. Power market research institute’s
Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study for Germany.
And our facilities in Bremen and East London received this
year’s J.D. Power Gold Plant Quality Award as the best production
plants in Europe and Africa respectively. The B-Class,
M-Class and C-Class coupe were selected as the models offering
the best occupant safety (five stars) in their respective segments
by Euro NCAP, an independent European safety association.
Mercedes-Benz workshops once again achieved the
grade “very good” in tests carried out by Germany’s ADAC
automobile association. And because Mercedes-Benz has
the most satisfied dealers in Germany, it was honored with the
2011 “SchwackeMarkenMonitor” award.
The best or nothing. In 2011, we attracted attention around
the world with our extensive communication activities on
the subject of the future of mobility. The fact that our brand
claim of “The Best or Nothing” is now firmly established
throughout global markets has been confirmed by the internationally
renowned Interbrand rankings, which once again
make Mercedes-Benz the world’s most valuable premium automotive
brand and Europe’s most valuable brand. New models
like the CLS, SLK and SLS AMG roadster have further underscored
the Mercedes-Benz hallmark of cultivated sportiness.
This has also helped to attract new target groups to the brand,
a strategy that is largely being driven by our product offensive
in the compact segment. Back in April 2011, we offered
the public a first glimpse of the new compact-car generation
in Shanghai, where we presented the Concept A-Class
(see page 38). This car has received a tremendous reception,
both inside and outside the usual automotive sector.
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