Rastatt employees welcome the fourth-gen A Class.
Officially, the beautiful new Mercedes-Benz A-Class has been put on the assembly line. German manufacturer has already begun taking orders for the smallest model and has completed the first assembly at its Rastatt plant, 50 miles west from Stuttgart. Mercedes will begin assembly of the hatchback in a few weeks at its Kecskemet facility in Hungary.
Markus Schafer, a member of the divisional boards at Mercedes-Benz, commented, “Mercedes-Benz Cars begins an unprecedented ramp-up cadence with the A-Class.” “With our global production network, it is possible to increase the production of our vehicles with proven top quality and provide the global market with even more speed. Our plants are more flexible and more efficient thanks to modern industry 4.0 technology.
The brand’s fourth-generation compact cars are now represented by the new A-Class. The current lineup, which includes five models (A-Class and B-Class), will be extended to eight models. All are based on Modular Front Architecture (MFA) by the firm. The brand will also launch an A-Class Sedan (which may debut in Beijing this month), and a compact GLB crossover.
Mercedes’ Rastatt plant where the first A-Class was made in 1997 will continue to be the leading factory for compact cars. It will also remain responsible for global control, planning, quality, and supplier management. Since 1992, more than 4.7 million cars were assembled at this site.
Mercedes has increased two body shops in preparation for the production of the new generation hatchback and constructed additional production areas. This will allow Mercedes to continue production of the A-Class, B-Class, and GLA with no interruptions until the launch of the next generation. The marque will soon be able to assemble small-sized electric vehicles in the same facility.