Beijing Benz's latest engineering project begins test production

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai March 4) - Beijing Benz second-phase engineering project, which commenced last September, has made some preliminary results with test production beginning at its general assembly facility. According to a report appearing in the Beijing News today, the joint venture has already begun allocating staff to work on the project.

With test production being successful, Beijing Benz anticipates to begin full production this April. The joint venture has plans to begin full production of rear-wheel drive models from the C-Class and E-Class lines, as well as the GLK SUV. The project will ensure that Beijing Benz's annual vehicle production capacity reaches 300,000 units by 2015. By comparison, the JV's production capacity last year was just over 90,000 vehicles.

In the future, the project will also allow Beijing Benz to manufacture a variety of small front-drive vehicles, including B-Class and A-Class models, in China. It will focus on manufacture of vehicles based on the MFA platform. According to officials from both Daimler and BAIC, the project will allow Beijing Benz to release small vehicles with the same speed as Mercedes-Benz does in its native Germany.