Demand for Mercedes' cars is so strong the company is looking at increasing working hours at its factories to keep up. This is the third year in a row where production records have been broken. To keep pace with orders Mercedes says production will only stop briefly to celebrate the New Year.
Staff at the Sindelfingen plant, where the S-Class is assembled, have agreed to work an extra 74 minutes a day in 2014. The extra hours are on top of the 30 minutes added to working days this year and the introduction of four extra Saturday shifts. Other models are also in demand, with workers in Bremen putting in more work to build the C-Class; and special shifts in the powertrain factory to supply the body plants with engines, transmissions and other components.
Mercedes is also investing in its production facilities around the world. In China there are plans to spend €4 billion together with its local partner BAIC. A plant in Brazil will produce the new C-Class and GLA. The C-Class will also be built at the factory in Tuscaloosa, USA, along with a new model series that will go into production in 2015.
Anything else?
Between January and November this year Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales reached 1,322,500 units, which is an increase of 10.7% on last year and more than the total number of cars sold by the company in 2012.