STUTTGART: Daimler will change the way it makes Mercedes-Benz Cars, shifting away from a manufacturing network controlled by individual factories towards a leaner system centred around vehicle architectures and model lines.
The radical overhaul was presented by Markus Schaefer, the new divisional head of production and supply-chain management at Mercedes-Benz Cars, who was thrust into his role after Andreas Renschler's defection to Volkswagen.
Schaefer said on Wednesday the traditional role of the factory chief would fall away as cost-savings plans would no longer encompass one factory at a time.
"We will seek to optimise global vehicle architectures and production networks.
The role of the individual factory chief is changing. In future, Sindelfingen will no longer have a factory chief in the traditional sense," he said.
At the same time, Daimler announced it would invest 3 billion euros ($3.88 billion) to modernise its German plants.
Shares in Daimler fell 1.2 percent to 63.72 euros by 0951 GMT, broadly in line with the European autos index.
Daimler will reevaluate what activities will still be done in-house and what will potentially be outsourced.
Factories will be adjusted to a manageable size, which Schaefer said was an annual production capacity of between 300,000 and 400,000 cars.
"Under our previous production structure, the individual plants operated largely autonomously.
Now manufacturing will be organised according to product architectures, independent of individual locations," Schaefer said.
Daimler said four new production chiefs would now oversee responsibility for front-wheel drive cars, rear-wheel drive cars, convertibles and sports utility vehicles.
Andreas Kellerman, a former head of the factory in Bremen, will oversee production of limousines including the S-Class. E-Class and C-Class vehicles, which use the Mercedes Rear Wheel Architecture (MRA).
Michael Goebel, a former head of production for roadsters, will now be in charge of global compact car production, including the A-Class, B-Class and GLA-Class vehicles that use the Mercedes Front Wheel Architecture (MFA).
Production of sports utility vehicles including the M-Class and GL-Class, as well as of the SL roadster models will fall under the responsibility of Jason Hoff, who currently heads the United States plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Daimler said. Peter Schaubert, currently in charge of global powertrain production, will remain in his role, the company said.
A new manufacturing organisation, Mercedes-Benz Operations, will oversee globalised production networks, with centralised responsibility for logistics and quality.
The new approach will help to organise plants along vehicle production modules, the company said. The Sindelfingen plant will receive more than 1 billion euros for modernisation investments.
The Untertuerkheim plant will receive a further billion to expand engine production.
The Mercedes factory in Bremen will receive 750 million euros to increase production capacity, and the plant in Rastatt will also receive an undisclosed amount, Daimler said.
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