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Case Study

Mercedes comes to Alabama

12 pages

April 1999

Reference: IMD-3-0792

In 1992, the German luxury car producer, Mercedes-Benz, announced two major strategy shifts, toward a full line of automotive products and toward a globally diverse set of plans and activities. As part of this shift, Mercedes planned to build a major plant in Alabama for the manufacture of sports-utility vehicles. The case describes the actions Mercedes took following its decision to invest in a new plant in Alabama. Among the issues discussed are: Mercedes’ choice of Andreas Renschler to head the unit; its trans-Atlantic approach to product development; its rigorous method of hiring and training local workers; and its attraction of suppliers to Alabama. The case ends with Mercedes about to begin sales of the new vehicle, and explores issues of capacity enlargement.

Keywords

Foreign Investment, Car

Settings

Europe, United States of America
1993-1997

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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