Mercedes-Benz Vans adds $53M delivery center to SC manufacturing campus By David Wren dw...@postandcourier.com Published Sun Jul 04, 2021 11:15 AM EDT NORTH CHARLESTON — With sales on a record pace and a new electrified Sprinter van on the way, the Mercedes-Benz Vans plant at Palmetto Commerce Park is investing $53 million to prepare newly made vehicles for distribution.
The new marshalling yard adjacent to the Sprinter factory is a 50-acre holding and staging area that includes 30 loading lanes for vehicle-carrying trucks, 50 charging stations for the new e-Sprinter, a van washing area and an office building. The site also includes a workshop with 22 van inspection and prep stations Previously, finished vans were stored in a partially paved site while waiting to be moved to customers. "These enhancements to the new marshalling yard will streamline operations to better allow the Mercedes-Benz Vans team to deliver premium quality vans to dealers, resulting in an exceptional customer delivery service and overall purchase experience from start to finish," the company said in a written statement. The vanmaker also said it has signed a deal with Baltimore-based Auto Warehousing Co. for all vehicle movements from the North Charleston plant to customers in hopes of "streamlining the overall handover process." The latest investment at the plant coincides with a boom in commercial van sales, driven largely by e-commerce retailers like Amazon that use the vehicles for their last-mile deliveries. Mercedes-Benz said its first-quarter sales topped 11,658 vans — 55 percent better than the same period a year ago. Demand for battery-powered delivery vans also is on the rise, prompting the company to announce its local campus will build the e-Sprinter for North American customers starting in the second half of 2023. "The future of mobility is electric in the transport sector, especially in the last-mile delivery segment," Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said in a statement. "Our share of battery-electric vehicles is constantly growing." The marshalling yard is the latest phase in the plant's $500 million-plus expansion, which started with a 2015 announcement that the site would convert to a full production facility. Previously, the factory handled the final assembly of partially built vans imported to the U.S in "kits" from Germany. The expansion has included a new production line, final assembly building, body shop and paint shop. In January, the nation's first Sprinter dealership, part of the Baker Motor Co., opened in Summerville. --R Sent from iPhone _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
