Mercedes-Benz South Africa to recruit 600 workers for next-gen C-Class production

Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) has unveiled its plans to recruit 600 workers for a two-month training program to facilitate production of next-generation C-Class vehicles at its West Bank plant in East London, reportsDaily Dispatch. The training programme, starting in September this year, will cover automotive theory and practical and production-specific content. The move is part of a $290 million investment Daimler undertook in 2010 to prepare the factory for production of the next-generation vehicles, which are set to be introduced in 2014. The site will build both right- and left-hand-drive versions of the vehicle for export to Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

As part of its efforts to boost output of the C-Class, Mercedes-Benz has closed the low-volume production line for the Mitsubishi Triton at the factory (seeSouth Africa: 2 March 2011:). Following the changes, the facility now only produces C-Class vehicles. The automaker intends to increase its export volumes substantially to qualify for incentives under the South African government's Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP), which requires exports of at least 50,000 cars a year. Keeping this in mind, MBSA plans to produce in excess of 50,000 units over the next five years.