Mercedes-Benz officials said its SUV plant in Alabama will resume operations next week.
Mercedes-Benz said it expects to resume production of sport utility vehicles at its assembly plant in Alabama next week.
“We have worked with our supply base to reestablish part flow and we anticipate getting the first round of parts next week to slowly begin ramping up SUV production operations.
“We are optimistic that as we go forward we will be able to add more production – gradually getting back to our normal production operations,” Felyicia Jerald, spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz U.S. International said in an e-mail to AFP.
With strong demand for SUVs bolstering sales across the industry, the shutdown of SUV assembly line at the Alabama plant could put a dent in Mercedes-Benz sales not only in the U.S. but also in other parts of the world where the German luxury brand sells American-made SUVs, such as in the Middle East and China.
(Mercedes shuts down Alabama plant due to fire-related parts shortage. Click Here for the story.)
Mercedes-Benz has halted production of SUVs, like the GLS, at its Vance, Alabama production line.
Jerald said MBUSI has had teams – both here and in Germany – working around the clock to re-establish part flow to the plant since the May 2 fire at Meridian Magnesium Products of America Inc. MBUSI is the only Mercedes-Benz plant affected by the incident, although other car manufacturers were affected by the fire, she said.
Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday is restarting production of the popular F-150 at the company truck assembly plant on Friday by using parts flown from the United Kingdom on a Boeing 747 cargo jet.
The Ford assembly plant in Dearborn has been down for a week after fire May 2 at Meridian. Ford disclosed the lost production could reduce Ford’s second quarter earnings 12 cents to 14 cents per share, but the company reaffirmed its 2018 guidance in the range of $1.45 to $1.70 per share.
General Motors, which shut down an assembly line producing vans, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., which reduced production at an assembly plant building minivans in Windsor, Ontario, said their production is still impacted by the fire.
(Click Here for more about the impact of Meridian fire on auto production.)
Ford said it had successfully repaired the supply chain and production of pickup trucks will resume Monday at plants in Michigan and Missouri that make F-150 pickups by today and Monday.