One million Mercedes M-Class milestone

Mercedes’ only North American plant has just celebrated a milestone – the production of its one millionth M-Class SUV.

The milestone vehicle built at the Tuscaloosa, Alabama facility was an ML350 Bluetec diesel, destined for the U.S. west coast. M-B credits the diesel powertrain and the coming ML450 Hybrid for keeping interest in its SUVs alive during the financial crisis and in spite of rising fuel prices.

When the plant opened in 1997, the M-Class was the only vehicle produced. More than 570,000 vehicles were built during the original M-Class’ eight-year lifecycle, ending in 2004. That success led to a $600-million plant expansion.

Today, three vehicles are built in Tuscaloosa – the gen-two M-Class, the R-Class, and the GL-Class SUV. It’s the sole source for these three products. In total, M-B’s North American plant has built more than 1.2 million vehicles.

“Everyone here at MBUSI is extremely proud to have reached this milestone,” said Ola Kaellenius, president and CEO of MBUSI. “This year has posed some challenges, but our Team Members have worked to maintain our momentum and they’ve turned those challenges into opportunities.”

The Tuscaloosa, Alabama facility will begin building the new ML 450 Hybrid this Fall.