Mercedes-Benz eyes positive progress in China

Frank Deiss, president and CEO of Beijing Benz Automotive Co Ltd, is at the heart of the German automaker's localization strategy.

Mercedes' aim is for at least two-thirds of its total sales in the country to be made-in-China models.

After the launch of its flagship local product new E-Class, Deiss shared some insights in how the brand will achieve this with China Daily reporter Li Fangfang.

How important is local production for Mercedes-Benz in China?

China will be the biggest market for Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles in the near future.

With that in mind, localized production of our Mercedes-Benz passenger cars is a major pillar of our growth strategy in China.

BBAC has grown to become a main production hub for Mercedes-Benz.

With the solid foundation of the most modern equipment and our global quality standards, 50 percent of our China sales were produced locally at BBAC in 2012.

With our huge additional investment and development at the plant, this figure is expected to grow to at least two-thirds in 2015.

The BBAC plant also houses the first ever Mercedes-Benz engine plant outside of Germany. With an annual capacity of 250,000 engines, assembly at the plant started in May this year.

The four-and six-cylinder engines will be used in locally produced Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and vans.

We have invested in a modern, top-notch facility and are confident about the quality of our locally produced engines.

As a matter of fact, we will be exporting key engine components to our other Mercedes-Benz plants in the near future.

What makes BBAC so unique as a production site?

BBAC is the first of our plants where different models and engine types are produced under one roof, which underlines our integrated and strong localization strategy.

Our development here is progressing tremendously fast.

Also, our top motivated and experienced Sino-German team perfectly complement each other within localized functional departments such as R&D, Quality Management and Purchasing, contributing strongly to the further localization of products and production.

How can you ensure the quality of Mercedes locally produced cars like the new E-Class?

Local production ensures that the growing demand for Mercedes-Benz cars can be satisfied efficiently and with a more agile response to the market.

At the same time, throughout the entire production process, quality is key.

That is why Quality Management is an integral part of our global production network.

Mercedes-Benz' world-renowned quality standards have been built into every step of the production process at BBAC, extending throughout the complete supply chain and supported by significant investments in the most modern technologies.

So we can confidently say that our cars live up to the Mercedes-Benz standard of 'The best or nothing', no matter where they are produced.