If you wondered whether Americans would buy a commercial van made by Mercedes-Benz, understand they are in good numbers and that they’re going to be American-made in a few years.
Daimler announced it would build a $500 million-plant for Mercedes-Benz Vans in Charleston, South Carolina to build the next-generation Sprinter vans. The facility will begin construction in 2016, according to the company. They expect to add 1,300 jobs as well.
Currently, Sprinters are built in Germany but then shipped to a U.S. facility in kits, and reassembled in order to skirt the 25% Chicken Tax tariff. Daimler says avoiding the high import fee and reassembling process, “will enable the company to more economically meet the growing demand from North American customers in the future and to considerably reduce delivery time on this market.”
The Sprinter has somewhat exploded in the U.S. market, with Mercedes-Benz Vans reporting about 26,000 sales in 2014, which they say puts the American market behind only Germany for the van’s sales. And with the next model soon to be made with pride in South Carolina, expect to see a lot more Sprinters on American roads.
Especially that wicked cool Sprinter 4×4 version.
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